IS BELIEF ENOUGH? James 2:19.

No. Salvation is more than accurate beliefs—more than “head knowledge.” Something has to change. Your life is transformed and you are born again—THAT is salvation. The old dies and you receive a new life. Everything changes, like the caterpillar that ceases to be a caterpillar and is reborn a butterfly.

James agrees. “You believe God is one. You do well. The demons also believe and shudder.” James 2:19. Even demons believe in Jesus—and they are not saved, are they?

Paul cast demons out of many people in the book of Acts. So many that others decided to get in on the action:

Then some of the wandering Jewish exorcists attempted to use the name of Jesus, saying, “I command you by the Jesus that Paul preaches!” Seven brothers were doing this. The evil spirit answered them, ‘I know Jesus, and I’ve heard of Paul, but who are you?’ Then the possessed man leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed, so that they ran out of the house naked and wounded” Acts 19: 13-16.

What a story! The demons in the man admitted they knew Jesus and Paul, but then asked, “Who are you?” This is what happens when a lost person dabbles in spiritual warfare. You can’t battle the devil without Christ! So he beat those seven brothers senseless for their mistake.

Note that demon possession IS real, and is common in lands filled with idol worship. Your soul is a door—some who don’t open it to Jesus, will open it to the enemy, often through occult, witchcraft, drugs (“sorceries” in the Bible), idol worship, satan worship, or false religions.

How did the people respond?

“Fear fell on all of them and the name of the Lord was magnified. And many who had become believers came confessing their practices; many who practiced magic burned their books in front of everyone. They calculated the value and found it to be 50,000 pieces of silver [several million dollars]! Thus, the Lord’s message flourished” 19:17-20.

Faith is more than belief—invite God to transform your life.

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AN ACCOUNTING LESSON. James 1:2-3

Since Adam began naming animals, humans have categorized everything in nature: evergreens and hardwoods, volcanic rock and sedimentary rock, mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, amphibians. The 19th-century saw the world briefly explode with naturalists. Explorers and artists like John James Audubon traveled with sketch pads, measuring tools, and boxes of specimens, seeking undiscovered animals to name, categorize, and publicize.

We are CATEGORIZERS.

It’s what people do: accountants (or bookkeepers) face the challenge of CATEGORIZING expenses. When a division of the company writes a check to an unknown vendor for the purchase of an unknown product, someone will have to make some calls. Which “pot” does this money come out of? Will there be additional charges such as taxes, shipping, or insurance? And the most important question—how do we label the expense? What is its category?

James tells us to think about suffering using an accounting metaphor. If your experiences were a ledger sheet and you the accountant, account the suffering by listing it in the CREDITS column. In other words, put suffering in the same category as paychecks, pay raises, and bonuses. (Does it sound like James might have flunked Accounting 101?)

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you experience various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance” James 1:2-3.

Count it joy. Other translations say, ‘consider it joy,’ or ‘regard it all joy.’  When you make an accounting of your day, put suffering in the good column. That doesn’t mean it FEELS good. But BY FAITH, you can ACCOUNT it as part of the good column. That is, when you add up the debits and credits, take everything that bothers you (all the debits) and put those things in the credits side. Count it ALL Joy. Everything you suffer will produce strength and endurance in you.

God, remind us of the miraculous power of GRATITUDE. Help us to be thankful for trials, to rejoice in adversity, and to put suffering in the “win” column at the end of each day. Remind us to be thankful in ALL THINGS.

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WISDOM. Hebrews 4:12-13.

The year 2020 was a year of searing pain.

I talked to a friend at work during the summer of 2021 about the year of 2020, and about politics, riots, COVID, vaccines, and suffering. If you measured the greatest amount of pain distributed to the greatest number of people, the pain of 2020 must have been record-breaking.

So 2021 becomes the year of questions:

How do I interpret 2020? What do I believe about COVID? Politicians? Riots? Race? Vaccines? What about all the conspiracy theories?

The year of 2021 thus became the year of questions and the year of drawing conclusions. It was the year of WHAT NOW? Of HOW SHOULD WE THEN LIVE?

If you hope to understand events, rather than ignore them, you MUST have wisdom.

Whose wisdom? God’s wisdom! There is no other source for answers. Forget television. Turn off podcasts. Stop scrolling. You must open the Word of God. It is time to STUDY TO SHOW THYSELF APPROVED UNTO GOD, 2 Timothy 2:15.

“For the word of God is LIVING and ACTIVE, and sharper than any two-edged sword, able to penetrate to the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from HIS sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him to whom we must answer” Hebrews 4:12-13.

What is this sword metaphor in this passage? What is being dissected, the Bible? No. The Word is the surgical tool that dissects US, you and me, teasing out and separating the parts, revealing hearts, intentions, motives. The word reveals fraud. Think about that.

Read the scriptures. On the subjects of COVID-19 and the year 2020, there may be no easy answers, no quick fix. Read anyway.

And when the Lord gives you answers, will you be ready to receive them? What if He tells you that you have been wrong on one subject or another? (Surely we have all been wrong on something.) When He reveals it, ACCEPT IT.

“Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion” Hebrews 3:15.

God, don’t let us harden our hearts. Help us listen. Grant us wisdom, and the humility to change our minds. Make us humble, teachable, and disciplined. Thank you for giving wisdom generously, as you promise in James 1:5.

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THE BIT AND BRIDLE. James 1:26.

Horses are huge, yet we expect to hop on and give orders. How? How can we control this force of nature? Most of us take it for granted, forgetting the power beneath us. When the majestic beast drags us under a low-hanging limb, or crow-hops to drop us, we get angry don’t we—as if bossing this massive animal is normal.

At our house we have ridden horses with bridles and without—and it makes a difference! The bridle connects to the bit in the horse’s mouth—and the bit gets his attention. A dog leash clipped to a halter is not the same thing! For a willful horse, a tug at the halter means little. To truly control a horse, you MUST have a bit and a bridle.

James uses this image as an analogy for controlling the tongue:

“Now when we put a bit into a horse’s mouth we are able to control his whole body…. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a mature man, able to control his whole body as well…. BUT THE TONGUE IS A FIRE, THE VERY WORLD OF INIQUITY, IT IS SET AMONG OUR MEMBERS AS THAT WHICH DEFILES THE ENTIRE BODY, SETS ON FIRE THE COURSE OF OUR LIVES, AND IS SET ON FIRE BY HELL…. No man can tame the tongue, it is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men who have been made in the likeness of God” James 3:3-10.

My dad used to tell me, “Steven, you’re a good kid, but your mouth’s gonna’ get you into a lot of trouble.” He was right: the tongue is HARD!

And GET THIS: “Let not many of you become teachers, for teachers incur a stricter judgment” James 3:1. As full-time talkers, GOD HOLDS TEACHERS TO A HIGHER STANDARD. Are you ready for that? Finally:

“If anyone thinks himself devout, but does not bridle his tongue, his devotion is worthless” James 1:26. (WOW!)

God, teach us to honor You with our words.

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HUSH. James 1:19.

Do you talk too much? When you see your friends and family, are you more determined to talk or to listen? Do you feel compelled to get your story told, or can you be patient and listen? Would people describe you as a listener or a talker?

There is wisdom in LISTENING.

You learn so much more from listening than from talking. Especially when you are around your elders—parents, teachers, bosses, mentors, coaches, grandparents. They have wisdom to offer you. Don’t miss that!

“But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to become angry” James 1:19.

Are you quick to hear?

Are you slow to speak? 

Being slow to speak allows you to be careful, to fully understand what someone is saying before you react and risk creating a misunderstanding or conflict. Listen first, and listen well. Then speak carefully and only when the time is right.

“Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips” Psalm 141:3

Pray. Dear Lord, teach me to listen well. Slow my mouth down. Put a guard, even a muzzle on my lips. Stop the wrong words. Help me listen and be patient and wise in my responses. Give me words that honor You. Help me to glorify You—to make You look good—with my words.

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How can you measure maturity in Christ? Consider speech. James 3:1-12.

James writes, “If anyone thinks he is ‘spiritual’ but does not control his tongue, then his spirituality is useless and he deceives himself.” James 1:26.

Do the people you know choose their words carefully? Do they stop themselves from saying certain things? Do they take their time with their words? Or does everything they think automatically come out of their mouth?

Spiritual maturity requires us to exercise discipline over our words. (It is up to you to keep your mouth clean so your parents don’t have to “wash your mouth out with soap,” as the oft-repeated threat goes.)

Consider the third chapter of James. The passage is so easy to understand and practical and well-written that I want to quote it straight from the text:

Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment. For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well. Now if we put the bits into the horses’ mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well. Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires. So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things.

 See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our lives, and is set on fire by hell!

For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race. But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not be this way. Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water? Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh.

James 3:1-12.

In response to my opening question about spiritual maturity, consider James 3:2–“If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well.” James seems to argue there is a correlation between controlling one’s tongue and spiritual maturity.”

James says don’t be a teacher, because you will be held to a higher standard, a stricter judgment (isn’t that interesting?). He compares reckless words to ARSON—they will set your whole life on fire, and that fire is the fire of Hell! Did you catch that?

And then he says no one can tame the tongue. It is restless, evil, and full of deadly poison. Also it is hypocritical: you worship God and destroy people with the same tongue.

God takes your words seriously. Do you? Do you really?

Pray with me: Dear God, help me to control my tongue. Make me aware when I am using my words for harm. Convict me when I am spreading gossip. Stop me from being angry, hateful, and bitter in my speech. Help me use my words to bring you glory and to give people grace. Make my words kind, patient, and sensitive. Help me honor you with my words every day. Give me the self-control to hold my tongue, to stop myself when I want to say the wrong thing. And help me when I am alone, because the conversations I have with myself sometimes cultivate and strengthen feelings of anger and revenge. I want to use my words to give you glory. I pray you would “set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth, and keep watch over the door of my lips,” as it says in Psalm 141:3. Teach me to listen to you right in the middle of my conversations, so I can stop myself and be more careful with my words. Teach me to control my tongue.

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INVEST IN YOURSELF BY GROWING YOUR FAITH. James 1:2.

There’s a great old joke that may be new to the youngest among us:

A man stops a musician on the sidewalk in New York and asks, “Sir, can you tell me how to get to Carnegie Hall?”

The musician answers, “Practice.”

How does a runner increase his speed? By practicing. How does a weight lifter become stronger? By lifting more weights. You improve your skills in every area by practicing, drilling, and rehearsing. The same is true for some aspects of the Christian life.

PRAY.

If you want to grow as a Christian, you certainly should pray. There is no substitute for time spent talking to your Father. Pray for others and yourself. Learn what Jesus taught and pray His way. Make a written prayer list and watch as God answers the things on your list!

STUDY THE WORD.

You should also study the Bible. Read it, listen to those who can teach you about it, and begin to understand this massive library of 66 amazing books. You can spend a lifetime discovering its truth and never learn it all.

READ THE WORD EVERY DAY.

Read the Bible daily. Younger Christians will usually be more successful reading the easier parts first. In the early days, don’t waste your time on things that are boring and hard to understand—not when there are so many exciting parts. But as you grow and mature, yes, learn to read the tough things too.

MEMORIZE THE AMAZING PARTS.

Finally: MEMORIZE. How long has it been since you memorized some beautiful string of words? I have to admit, it was the ease of memorizing lines as an actor that convinced me to memorize scripture (that, and watching my girlfriend-now-wife do it every week).

It is easy to look at two sentences and convince yourself that memorizing them can’t be done. (It’s too hard!) But if you were going to be in a play, you would think nothing of memorizing 45 minutes of dialogue. I used to do it all the time. And if you do that a few times, be honest with yourself: memorizing key scripture verses is not impossible. It just takes a little effort.

MEMORIZE THE PARTS THAT SPEAK TO YOU!

What do you memorize? Look for things that speak to you, verses that explode in your mind, changing the way you think on a topic. I also like the language to be well-written and as poetic as possible, so I primarily memorize from the New American Standard, the King James, or the New International Version. The more poetic (musical) and well-written, the easier it will be to memorize. When I began memorizing scripture, I started with verses on adversity. It made sense to me: everyone is going to suffer, and I wanted to be ready for it. I eventually memorized many verses dealing with lust, pride, laziness and many other topics.

A great source of easy-to-learn verses is the book of Proverbs.(Each of the 915 verses was written to be easy to memorize, recall, and share with others. By definition, a proverb is memorable, relevant, and quotable.)

Another source of great lines are the epistles, letters to early Christians. The five-chapter book of James includes about twenty verses that I have memorized over the years. Here are three from chapter one:

“Consider is all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance, and let endurance have its perfect result to that you may perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” James 1:2-4.

“Everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to become angry, for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God” James 1:19-20.

“If anyone thinks he is religious but does not control his tongue, then his religion is useless and he is deceiving himself” James 1:26.

Invest in yourself by memorizing scripture!

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PAIN IS WEAKNESS LEAVING THE BODY. Acts 14:22.

I once made daily trips to LA Fitness. The people-watching was entertaining—not only do some “gym-rats” develop odd physiques because they work out one part of the body to the exclusion of all others, but some have peculiar habits, such as spending three-solid hours on the stair master machine, a circular spray of sweat puddling around them. Others only work out in front of a mirror. Some take selfies. And then there’s weirdos like me who hit the treadmill with a book. To read.

Gyms do not reach enough of us to improve the overall state of American health. The obesity epidemic remains at an all-time high. But even those who don’t exercise know they probably SHOULD.

Most agree with the recent tee-shirt seen at the gyms: “PAIN IS WEAKNESS LEAVING THE BODY.”

We know pushing ourselves hard will make us better, stronger, healthier people. But most of us skip it.

But you can’t skip spiritual pain. When I lived in Eagle Pass, Texas, the wealthiest couple in town went to my church. All their money could not purchase health for their grandson. He was on the prayer list every week and the family was hurting. Life is like that sometimes.

Job says “man was BORN FOR TROUBLE, as sparks fly upward” Job 5:7.

Paul said it this way:

“It is through many hardships that we must enter the kingdom of God” Acts 14:22.

Why do we suffer? Many reasons and no reason. God provides so many reasons: to grow our faith, perseverance, and hope. To glorify Him, to make us more Christlike and more self-less. And sometimes, there’s no clear meaning. Sometimes random, absurd problems come along that defy explanation—but we live in a fallen world. Things break. Sometimes you need to stop looking for a deep meaning and just accept that it happened, and move on. But rejoice. Be thankful. No matter what, you will grow in Christ and know Him better.

Sometimes pain is weakness leaving your heart.

Memorize some verses about adversity; they are the tools that will get you through adversity.

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*The cartoon above was drawn by Tony Auth and was first published on May 11, 1996 in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

ALL ROADS LEAD TO ROME. Acts 13:36.

“But when the fullness of time came, God sent His Son” Galatians 4:4.

The Cross is the intersection, the ‘Crux’ of history (‘Crux’ is Latin for ‘cross’). All the eyes of history look either forward or backward to the Cross.

The Cross is the focus of history and Israel is the focus of geography.

This was by Design. Jesus came during the Roman Empire, the largest, most stable government to date. There is truth in the expression “all roads lead to Rome.” Think of Houston freeways: three encircle the city, but, like spokes on a wagon wheel, ten freeways take you INTO the city.

In Houston, all roads lead DOWNTOWN. In the ancient world, all roads led to Rome.

And Rome built those roads. There are roads today in Great Britain (1200 miles from Rome) that were built by the Romans 2,000 years ago. (In England, some say ‘All Roman roads lead to Londinium’—London.) Moreover, Rome brought peace. Roman leaders may have been tyrants, but once they conquered the world, wars stopped. Hence the term, PAX ROMANA, or “Roman Peace.”

The Church was born into Pax Romana: ROMAN PEACE.

After his childhood in Egypt, Jesus never left Israel. But the Romans, the hated occupying force (like Russians in the Ukraine today), provided a critical service to the Gospel: peace and a highway system. Missionaries could travel from nation-to-nation with the permission of only one government—Rome—and the Roman highway system made travel much easier.

It was the perfect time to be a missionary: the “Fullness of Time.”

God immediately began sending people. Simon of Cyrene went home to North Africa. The Ethiopian Eunuch returned to Ethiopia. Peter is believed to have gone to Antioch. Paul traveled an estimated 10,000 miles spreading the Gospel throughout Greece and Rome. Traveling the early Silk Road, the Gospel soon reached India and China. It was the perfect time, “the fullness of time.”

God, You are sovereign over history. May we, like David ‘serve God’s purpose in our generation’ Acts 13:36.

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GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER. Acts 10:11-16.

The 1967 film, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, tells the story of an engaged couple, Sidney Poitier and Katharine Houghton. Joanna (Houghton) takes her fiancé, Dr. Prentice (Poitier), home to meet her parents, Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. Joanna and her parents are white. Dr. Prentice is black. It is 1967. Joanna’s parents are shocked that their daughter is engaged to a black man. Later, Dr. Prentice’s parents are shocked that their son is engaged to a white woman. The two fathers agree—the marriage must be stopped. A priest and some family friends support the marriage. The mothers eventually come around. Finally, the fathers remember true love and acquiesce, but warn the couple they face a lifetime of struggle.

And why not? In 1967, interracial marriage remained ILLEGAL in 17 states. Two weeks after filming was completed, the Supreme Court struck down anti-miscegenation (no mixing races) laws in Loving v. Virginia. Spencer Tracy, gravely ill throughout filming, did not live to see those laws changed, having died two days BEFORE the Court’s watershed decision.

Do you ever write people off? The Jews had strict laws forbidding them from even entering the HOMES of Gentiles. But Jesus changed that. God brought Peter a vision:

“He saw heaven opened and an object that resembled a large sheet coming down, being lowered by its four corners to the earth. In it were all four-footed animals and reptiles of the earth, and the birds of the sky. Then a voice said to him, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill and eat!’

‘No, Lord,’ Peter said, ‘for I have never eaten anything common and unclean!’

Again a second time, a voice said, ‘What God has made clean, you must not call unclean.’ This happened three times” Acts 10:11-16.

Immediately, God sent Peter to the home of a Roman Centurion named Cornelius. Cornelius and his Gentile friends and family were saved and received the Holy Spirit, evidenced by the gift of tongues. Soon all Christians understood the “Vision of the Sheet With Animals.” Not only were believers released from kosher dietary laws (bacon!), but God tore down the dividing wall between Jew and Greek.

There are no people above you, beneath you, or off-limits to you. While every marriage requires an honest look at similarities, differences, families, and customs, there are no rules.

Many would argue racial differences are meaningless, or even that we are all one race—the HUMAN RACE.

God, fill us with love for all Your children.

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