Our theme for this month: “Personal Responsibility”

Our Bible verse for today: “Go to the ant, you slacker! Observe its ways and become wise. Without leader, administrator, or ruler, it prepares its provisions in summer; it gathers its food during harvest. How long will you stay in bed, you slacker? When will you get up from your sleep?” Proverbs 6:8-9 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “You are responsible for taking action.”

The primary difference between successful people and unsuccessful people is that successful people simply go out and do what needs to be done, while unsuccessful people procrastinate and make excuses. You would think that the key to success in life would be something like talent, skill, or intelligence. But no, the most important ingredient for success is action. The world is filled with intelligent, talented, skilled people who failed because they didn’t act.

In Proverbs 6:8-9 Solomon used the example of the ant – an insect known for hard work and diligence. The ant is a self-starter who doesn’t need to be instructed and closely supervised – it just goes out and does what needs to be done. He contrasted that with a person who is a lazy, excuse-making slacker. The Biblical wisdom being imparted here is that we are to get off the couch and be productive.

In recent devotional messages I’ve been referring to the life-lessons taught in the great little book “The Traveler’s Gift”. In the book the main character, David, is travelling through time having encounters with real historical figures. At each stop David is taught an important life-lesson which, if implemented, will make his life substantially better. At one point he had a brief encounter with Civil War hero Colonel Joshua Chamberlain. Colonel Chamberlain was known as a courageous man of action. The principle David is taught in this encounter is “I am a man of action”. Here’s a summary of it:

“I am a person of action. I will not dwell in a pit of despair. I will not waste time regretting lost opportunities. I will take the action necessary to make my life better. When faced with a choice of doing something or doing nothing, I will always choose to act. Successful people make their decisions quickly, change their minds slowly, and move forward with confidence. I am a person of action.”

This is what Solomon taught in Proverbs 6:8-9, God expects us to be people of action. We are not to procrastinate, make excuses, or be lazy. We have a responsibility to take the action necessary to accomplish the things that need to be done.

I encourage you to be a man or woman of action.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

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Our theme for this month: “Personal Responsibility”

Our Bible verse for today: “Rather, each will die for his own iniquity. Anyone who eats sour grapes – his own teeth will be set on edge.” Jeremiah 31:30 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “You are responsible for your choices.”

Probably one of the top ten most inspiring and motivational books I’ve read is “The Traveler’s Gift” by Andy Andrews. I’ve mentioned this book in the past in previous devotionals.

The story revolves around a man named David who is at a low point in life and who has no idea how to get himself straightened out. As the story unfolds he finds himself on a journey through time. At each stop in history he encounters a real historical figure who teaches him an important life-lesson which will help to make his life better. Those principles become what he called “The Seven Decisions”. They are seven principles that a person can adopt and which will have a great positive impact on his or her life. All of them have to do with our topic of personal responsibility, so over the next seven days I will paraphrase and expand on each of those seven principles.

The first principle is “The buck stops here” and it comes from David’s encounter with President Harry Truman. Truman’s life lesson for David is that he must accept personal responsibility for his own choices, and for what those choices have brought into his life. A summary of that principle reads like this:

“I accept responsibility for my past. I am where I am because of my thinking. The way I think determines the choices I make. The choices I make determine how my life develops. My thinking creates a pathway to success or failure. Therefore, from this point forward, my thinking will be constructive rather than destructive. I will be my best mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually, and financially because of the way I think. My future is my responsibility.”

The way you think determines the choices you make. The choices you make will determine how your life turns out. You are where you are today because of the choices you have made in the past. Where you will end up tomorrow will largely be determined by the choices you are making today. You are responsible for you. It’s not up to anybody else to provide you an income, pay your bills, put food on your table, mow your lawn, make your bed, or anything else in your life. That’s the point of Jeremiah 31:10. It’s all about personal responsibility.

If you make good choices you will get good results. If you make bad choices and you will get bad results. It’s your responsibility to think right, act right, and live right. This is the life that God will bless.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our mailing address is:

Our theme for this month: “Personal Responsibility”

Our Bible verse for today: “If anyone isn’t willing to work, he should not eat.”

2 Thessalonians 3:10 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “God expects us to support ourselves”

Today is Labor Day and so I thought it would be good to write a devotional about the personal responsibility we have to work and to support ourselves.

Labor Day is a national holiday intended to celebrate the contributions American workers make to our nation. Although some other countries have also come to celebrate Labor Day, it’s a distinctly American holiday. We celebrate it on the first Monday of September and it can be dated to the early 1880s. It became a national holiday in 1894.

The celebration of Labor Day helps us to remember the importance of hard work, and the personal responsibility we each have to work in order to support ourselves and to provide for those who depend on us. Having a job was God’s idea. He established the concept early in the creation story when He assigned Adam the responsibility of caring for the Garden of Eden. Then, all throughout Scripture, work is portrayed as a good thing not a bad thing. The Proverbs especially praise hard work and diligence, and they condemn laziness and poor performance.

In 2 Thessalonians 3:10 the Apostle Paul went so far as to say if an individual will not work then he shall not eat. He was referring to people who can work but don’t, and who then rely on other people or the government to provide for them. Paul taught that we should let such people go hungry rather than giving them hand-outs. The idea is that if they get hungry enough, they will get a job so they can earn some money and buy their own food.

Paul’s instruction may sound harsh and cold, but he’s teaching us not to enable bad behavior. God wants us to work if we can. If someone can work but doesn’t, and you then enable them in their chosen unemployment by providing them with the things they ought to be earning for themselves, you are enabling them to continue disobeying God.

Granted, this requires discernment and good judgment. It’s difficult to know all the reasons behind someone’s current circumstances. So we don’t want to be insensitive or unkind, but we also don’t want to enable bad behavior.

I hope you enjoy your Labor Day holiday today. I encourage you get good rest and some relaxation too, so tomorrow you will be ready to go back out there and do your part to provide for yourself and for those who depend on you.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Our mailing address is:

Our theme for this month: “Changing the tone of the conversation”

Our Bible verse for today: “A fool finds no pleasure in understanding, but delights in airing his own opinions.” Proverbs 18:2 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “Take the time to listen to other people’s opinions.”

There’s an intellectual disease spreading like a cancer throughout our society today. It is eating away at our collective ability to engage in rational and reasoned conversations with those with whom we disagree. It is also destroying our ability to objectively consider all sides of an issue before we arrive at our conclusions.

The disease is known as “confirmation bias”. It’s not a physical disease but a mental one. It’s a short circuit in an individual’s reasoning power which limits his or her ability to arrive at accurate conclusions that fairly reflect reality. The condition of confirmation bias is a situation whereby we have already arrived at our conclusion before we even engage in the conversation, and therefore rather than seriously considering the point the other person is trying to make, we’re simply out to prove our own point.

Confirmation bias is often based on political affiliations, tradition, prejudice, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, emotion, etc. Because it is a “bias” it is often not based on objective facts and a sincere desire to determine the actual truth of a situation. Confirmation bias also lends itself to demonizing those with whom you disagree.

This is what’s being described in Proverbs 18:2. Such a person has no interest in arriving at truth, or even in making an attempt to understand why the other person believes as he or she does. Their only concern is to voice their own pre-determined opinions.

Those who oppose Christianity and Biblical principles often know little about Christianity and Biblical principles. Instead they have some superficial and inaccurate pre-determined ideas which they cling to as truth, and they have little interest in having a serious discussion about it. But as Christians we do this too. How many of us have had a serious discussion with an atheist or a homosexual, listening closely as they explained what they believe and how they feel?

The mental disease of confirmation bias is becoming more and more of a problem in our society and it’s the major reason that people simply are not listening to each other. We should be sure of our own positions, but that certainty should be based on facts and study and logical thought, and it should include time spent giving serious consideration to the other person’s opinion. We will talk more about this tomorrow.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Our mailing address is:

Our theme for this month: “Changing the tone of the conversation”

Our Bible verse for today: “Whoever shows contempt for his neighbor lacks sense, but a person with understanding keeps silent.” Proverbs 11:12 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Unkind words never help.”

As we near the end of our long discussion about “changing the tone of the conversation”, I’m reminded of the wise words from philosopher and theologian N.T. Wright: “Civil discourse isn’t the answer to everything, but uncivil discourse isn’t the answer to anything.” I’m certain Wright is correct. Kind words, and reasoned rational discussion, won’t solve all problems, but mean-spirited attacks and hurtful words won’t solve anything, not ever.

As I listen to the conversations taking place in our country today, especially in the news media and from some of our highest leaders, I’m reminded of a scene from the days of the ancient Romans. In those days thousands of spectators would gather in coliseums to watch gladiators do battle, and the crowds would go wild with cheering and shouting and almost insane pleasure at the sight of it all. It was a blood sport.

The verbal combat taking place in our society today isn’t much different. The warriors in the arena are often vicious and bloodthirsty, while their supporters cheer them on, eagerly anticipating the next mean tweet, the next clever zinger. This is happening on all sides and across the political spectrum. It’s not limited to one political party, one special interest group, or just certain individuals.

To a large extent it has become a blood sport and rather than being appalled by it, rather than being revolted and insisting that it stop, many in the coliseum are cheering it on and calling for more. And so, the situation keeps getting worse. At some point enough of us need to get so tired of it that we insist it has to stop. “Civil discourse isn’t the answer to everything, but uncivil discourse isn’t the answer to anything.”

In Proverbs 11:12 Solomon says that people who use that kind of uncivil discourse have no sense. They are not wise people. They’re making things worse not better. He goes on to say that a person with understanding keeps silent. This is similar to what your mother told you, “If you can’t say something nice about a person then don’t say anything at all.”

Maybe you don’t agree with that statement. Maybe you think that’s a naïve and impractical expectation in politics and political commentary. Well, okay. But you’re not in disagreement with me you’re in disagreement with God. Proverbs 11:12 are His words not mine. God is the One who said “Either speak nicely or keep your mouth shut”.

It’s fine to advocate for your position; you can even do it vigorously and with passion; but it needs to be done without being mean or unkind.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

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