Our theme for this month: “Wisdom”

Our Bible verse for today: “If anyone has this world’s goods and sees his brother in need but closes his eyes to his need – how can God’s love reside in him? Little children, we must not love with word or speech, but with truth and action.” 1 John 3:17-18 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “Biblical wisdom leads us to care for other Christians.”

The letter of 1 John was written by the Apostle John in the last years of his life. By that time he had long been known as “The Apostle of Love”. The reason was that John was a true pastor. He had a huge heart for his people. He longed to see them grow and mature in Christ and he knew that one of the most important measures of how mature a Christian is, is how much love they show for their brothers and sisters in God’s family. Demonstrating love for one another within the family of God was one of John’s most frequently taught lessons. “If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For the person who does not love his brother he has seen cannot love the God he has not seen. And we have this command from Him: The one who loves God must also love his brother.” 1 John 4:20-21

As we’ve learned in previous devotionals so far this month, the people of God have been called by God to be salt and light out there in the world. We are to go out among those who don’t know God and bless them in the name of God. The more spiritually mature we are – the wiser in the ways of God that we have become – the more of that we will do. But even before that, we are to be a blessing to those within the family. We are to take care of our brothers and sisters – if one of them is hurting and in need they should get the first and best of our attention.

Pastor John, this big-hearted Apostle of Love, wanted his people to display their spiritual maturity and their godly wisdom by caring for one another. That lesson applies to us too. We must love one another – really love one another, and it must be demonstrated in deeds rather than just expressed in words. We have to take care of each other.

Has the Holy Spirit brought to your attention a brother or sister who is struggling in some way? Is one of them unemployed and in desperate need of a job? Spend some time today looking for job leads for them. Is a family in your church struggling to make ends meet financially? You could give an anonymous love offering to help and encourage them, or buy them a box of groceries, or bring a meal to their house. Does someone have an unfaithful spouse or a wayward teen? Maybe they need someone who will just sit and listen. You could be that person. Make some time this week to visit a shut-in or someone in a nursing home. How can you be a blessing to a brother or sister today?

“Little children, we must not love with word or speech, but with truth and action.” 1 John 3:18

God Bless,

Our theme for this month: “Wisdom”

Our Bible verse for today: “No one has greater love than this, that he would lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “Freedom is not free. Many paid the ultimate price to defend our nation.”

Today is Memorial Day and in honor of those who have died defending our nation, instead of writing something about our theme for the month, today I want to devote a few sentences to the subject of this special day.

Memorial Day is often confused with Veteran’s Day. Veteran’s Day is celebrated in November and its purpose is to show national appreciation for all those who have ever served in the Armed Forces of our nation. Memorial Day however, is specifically intended to pay tribute to those members of the Armed Forces who gave their lives in the service of our country.

Traditionally observed on the last Monday in May, Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day. It began shortly after the Civil War when towns and cities in both the North and the South paid tribute to those who had given their lives on both sides of that conflict. The graves of the dead soldiers were decorated, parades were held in their honor, and patriotic speeches were given.

By the 1880’s the spontaneous individual observances of Decoration Day had spread to become a national holiday. Over time, as our nation became involved in more wars, the dead from all of those conflicts were included in the memorial celebrations. Eventually it came to include all members of the Armed Forces who have ever lost their lives in the service of our country, whether through combat related injuries or not. If a person died while on active duty in the Armed Forces then that individual is to be honored on Decoration / Memorial Day.

The title “Memorial Day” seems to have taken root in the public mind slowly over many decades but was finally made official by President Johnson in 1967.

Please take some time today to honor those who have died while serving in the Armed Forces of our country. The phrase “Freedom isn’t free” is so over-used it has become a cliché. And yet, it is profoundly true. The freedoms we enjoy in our nation remain the envy of the world, but they came to us at the cost of great courage and must sacrifice (The Revolutionary War), and those freedoms have been maintained through the centuries at the cost of much more courage and sacrifice. Freedom is not free. Many have paid the ultimate price for it. The rest of us get to live in peace and safety thanks to what they did for us. Remember them today.

God Bless,

Our theme for this month: “Wisdom”

Our Bible verse for today: “Is it a time for you yourselves to live in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? Now, the Lord of Hosts says this: “Think carefully about your ways.” Haggai 1:4-5 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “Wise people put the Lord first.”

I’m sure the people of Haggai’s day would have claimed that the Lord was first in their lives, but the evidence proved otherwise. In their case they had been tasked by God to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem but instead they left the temple in ruins while they focused on building their own homes, tending their own crops, and pursing their own interests. They were busy people with full lives and although they would have claimed that God was number one in their lives, He wasn’t. And as a result, they were missing some of God’s best blessings.

So Haggai challenged them to consider the true quality of their lives. While they were so obsessed with their homes and jobs and recreational activities, their lives were still coming up fairly empty. He wrote:

“You have planted much but harvested little. You eat but never have enough to be satisfied. You drink but never have enough to become drunk. You put on clothes but never have enough to get warm. The wage earner puts his wages into a bag with a hole in it.” Haggai 1:6

Despite their obsessive pursuit of worldly concerns their crops were minimal, their clothes gave little real warmth, all their food and drink failed to truly satisfy them, and so Haggai’s message was clear: “If you shortchange God He will withhold His blessings from you.”

Oh, they had material abundance that’s true, but Haggai’s point was that deep in their hearts there was still an emptiness, an unfulfilled longing.

Sadly, their story is our story. We cram our lives full – right to the outer edges with all sorts of things that have little or nothing to do with God. We allow careers, recreational activities, and the expectations of others to monopolize the majority of our time until we have little left for God and His people. We spend all we make to acquire material possessions, go into debt to acquire even more, and then claim we can’t afford to give God the 10% that is rightly His. More is never enough. And when it’s all said and done, when we’ve worked as many hours as we could, played until we dropped, spent until there was nothing more to spend, we discover that there’s still a whole in the middle of our heart that all that activity and stuff didn’t fill for us.

The French philosopher Pascal once observed that, “There is a God-shaped vacuum in the human heart which can only be filled by God.” He was right, but sadly many of us have yet to learn that lesson.

A person who is wise in the ways of God will put God first – really put Him first. When we do, we discover that He Himself meets our true needs, fulfills our deepest longings, and our lives are suddenly richer, fuller, more satisfying than they ever were before.  And, God will often then throw in a bunch of the other blessings as well. Wise people put the Lord first in every area of their lives.

God Bless,

Our theme for this month: “Wisdom”

Our Bible verse for today: “Show me your faith without works, and I will show you faith from my works.” James 2:18 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “Godly wisdom leads to a faith that is active.”

Far too many Christians practice a brand of Christianity that consists primarily of going to church on Sunday. They probably also throw in a few quick prayers each day, and maybe even a little Bible reading every once in a while, but that’s pretty much it. Theirs is a practice of the faith that consists mostly of a little habitual ritual, and it’s pretty superficial.

But that’s not the example of faith we’re given in the Bible. James especially calls believers to an active faith, a faith that is observable by the good works that grow out of it. That’s what he was writing about in 2:18. In the rest of his letter he addresses things like taking care of widows and orphans, feeding the hungry and clothing the poor, treating people fairly and with respect, and other very active, very intentional, acts of mercy and compassion, reconciliation and witness – all of which grow out of a deep and dynamic faith.

Being wise in the ways of God leads us to a faith that is active and observable in meaningful ways out in the world. Jesus called us to be “salt and light” where? In the pew on Sunday morning? No. Out in the world. It’s why Jesus also had high praise for those who visited the sick and the prisoners, fed the hungry, gave water to the thirsty, and clothed the naked. He even said that when we do things like that for others, He receives those acts as if we had done them directly to Him (Matthew 25:45). A major theme in both the Old and New Testaments is an active faith that makes a real difference in the lives of other people.

The other day I saw a street sign which read “We must take sides. Neutrality always favors the oppressor, never the victim.” That’s Biblical. It’s consistent with God’s desire for His people to stand up for those who are oppressed and mistreated. It’s similar to the old saying “All that’s required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing.” Biblical wisdom doesn’t allow for us to sit idly by while others suffer – especially if we could do something about it but just don’t want to be bothered.

Biblically the truly wise person is not the hermit living in a cave on a mountaintop, and it’s not the Sunday morning saint who has little time the rest of the week for the things of God. As we continue to grow wiser and wiser in the ways of God we will discover that Biblical wisdom leads us to a very active faith that makes a real difference in the real world.

God Bless,

Our theme for this month: “Wisdom”

Our Bible verse for today: “Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen. For our ancestors won God’s approval by it.” Hebrews 11:1-2 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “A wise person learns from history.”

I’m concerned that today we’re becoming entirely too modern for our own good. The Christian church has become contemporary in the extreme, almost to the point of disdaining everything from the past. “If it’s new it’s good, if it’s old it’s bad.” That mind set, when applied to church life, results in a pretty thin practice of the faith, one that has sacrificed the rich heritage that is ours.

There’s a lot we can learn from history of the church. The Holy Spirit didn’t suddenly show up on earth in 2014. There was plenty of good Christian music long before the advent of Maranatha Music; we used to get along just fine without PowerPoint presentations; preachers with spiked hair were considered strange much longer than they’re been considered cool; and Joel Osteen is not the Apostle Paul (how’s that for an understatement?!) The point is that there is much from the past that is good and helpful and worth hanging onto.

The Christian church has a long and rich history of deep insights, profound teaching, beautiful music, inspiring art, and revival movements that have changed the course of nations. We ignore that history at our own peril. In his book “The Sacred Romance” author John Eldredge writes:

“One of the reasons modern evangelicalism feels so thin is because it is merely modern; there is no connection with the thousands of years of saints who have gone before. Our community of memory must include not only saints from down the street, but also those from down the ages. Let us hear the stories of John and Teresa from last week, but also those of St. John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila, to name only two. Let us draw from that “great cloud of witnesses” and learn from their journeys, so that our memory may span the story of God’s relationship with his people.”

We can and must learn from those of previous generations in our church, as well as from those of previous ages down through the centuries of Christian history. The ancient is good in oh so many ways. We miss much by trying so hard to be ultra-contemporary. The truly wise person knows there is much to be learned from the history of the Church.

For an expanded teaching on this subject you can go to my website at http://www.JimMersereauBooks.com and download the free article “Ancient Wisdom for Modern Times.”

God Bless,

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Wisdom”

Our Bible verse for today: “Mankind, He has told you what is good and what it is the Lord requires of you: to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “A wise person understands what it is that the Lord really wants.”

The Christian world today is filled with what I call “modern day Pharisees”. These are people who, like the Pharisees in Jesus’ day, attempt to practice their faith by observing a long list of rules and regulations. For themselves and for others they have a long list of do’s and don’ts, checklists of acceptable behavior, rituals, dress codes, and much more. Usually much of it is based upon tradition, personal bias, and personal opinion rather than on scripture. And then they become dogmatic about it. They insist that everyone else should believe and practice as they do and they become stern and judgmental in their dealings with anyone who doesn’t.

In the middle of all that Old Testament religiosity, the prophet Micah clued the people into what it is the Lord is really looking for from His people. He is looking for people with a humble spirit, a quiet faithfulness, and a commitment to justice, mercy, and compassion. We know about the freedom in Christ that the New Testament teaches. We understand the message of salvation by grace which Jesus made possible and which Paul so eloquently taught in Galatians. And we’ve been instructed, especially by Jesus and James, that true Christian faith will be evidenced by works of kindness, mercy and compassion. But that same message was also woven all throughout the Old Testament as well. Micah was just one of many prophets who preached and taught this. So we have to wonder “how did they miss it?” For that matter, how do we?

Why do so many of us get caught up in codes and creeds and rituals – thinking the Lord is pleased with all that, when the message of both Testaments is so clear that what God is really looking for is a person with a humble heart, a quiet but sure faith, and a commitment to go out into the world and bless others in His name? How do we keep missing that?

Over the years I’ve noticed that those who are truly wise in the ways of the Lord are precisely those who have learned and practiced this lesson. The truly wise ones are seldom the overbearing pulpit-pounders, or the prim and proper church lady whose girdle is apparently too tight, or the stern and dour deacon with the big Bible and the sour look on his face. No, the truly wise ones are humble and kind, gentle and joyful, filled with mercy and compassion, always seeking to find a way to bless others.

What is it the Lord is really looking for in His people? To act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God. The wise ones know this.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “Wisdom”

Our Bible verse for today: “Plans fail when there is no counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.” Proverbs 15:22 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “We need wise counsel.”

In the Bible study “Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God”, Henry Blackaby teaches that although God can speak to us in an infinite number of ways, the ways He most commonly speaks to us in our day is through the Bible, through prayer, through the circumstances of our lives, through the counsel of mature Christian friends, and through the testimony of the church. Usually when He is trying to tell us something He will do so through two or more of those ways.

I know from personal experience that God often speaks to me through the counsel of Christian friends. I’m deeply grateful for those few friends whose maturity and insight I trust and who make themselves available to me to help me think through, talk through, and pray through, difficult situations and decisions. God has often used them to bring clarity to my mind and to help me understand His will. Godly wisdom often comes to us through the counsel of others.

Unfortunately many Christians have the bad habit of making important decisions in their own understanding and without seeking counsel and advice from others. In Proverbs 15:22 Solomon warned that this is the thing which causes people to fail and to fall. Proverbs 3:5 also cautions us to rely not on our own understanding. Proverbs 12:15 says, “A fool’s way is right in his own eyes, but whoever listens to counsel is wise.”

In the 1970’s there was a popular television show called “The “A” Team”. One of the characters was a rough, tough, hard boiled guy by the name of “MR. T”. Mr. T’s signature line in the show consisted of him shaking his fist, scowling, and with a growl he would say “Pity the poor fool who …. (fill in the blank). That poor fool was about to get crossways with Mr. T. and would live to regret it.

Well allow me to paraphrase Mr. T. this morning and say, “Pity the poor fool who makes important decisions without seeking godly counsel.” According to Solomon such a person is destined to fail.

Now, we do have to be careful about who we trust for godly counsel. Not everyone is qualified or trustworthy. But it is important to have a few people in your life who are spiritually mature, who love you, and whose counsel you can trust. Then make it a point to consult them about important decisions. We need wise counsel in order to make good decisions.

God Bless,

Our Bible verse for today: “The intelligent person restrains his words, and one who keeps a cool head is a man of understanding. Even a fool is considered wise when he keeps silent, discerning when he seals his lips.” Proverbs 17:27-28 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “A wise person knows when to remain silent.”

I once knew a woman who was often a volcano of bubbling, babbling, emotion. She seemed to have little control over her emotions and she therefore frequently erupted with volcanic explosions of words – supercharged, critical, complaining, and often harsh words. Not much Biblical wisdom in that.

Oh, and she often found herself in a position of having to apologize. Once the pressure was released, once the molten lava of overheated words had been exhausted, and once she had finally calmed down, she was often embarrassed and shifted into damage control mode as she explained, rationalized, and eventually apologized for her behavior.

In Proverbs 17:27 Solomon tells us that the person who has acquired Biblical wisdom will have learned to keep a cool head and to restrain their words. That means that instead of being ruled by our emotions it’s the Holy Spirit who has control over our tongue. It means that we think first and speak second. And it means that when we do speak, our words are well thought out, intentional, and accomplish good rather than evil.

In verse twenty-eight Solomon goes on to explain that even a foolish person will be considered wise if they just keep their mouth shut. That reminds us of the old adage “Remain silent and you may appear foolish, but open your mouth and you will remove all doubt.” As your emotions are beginning to boil and that volcano of words is moving quickly to the surface you may find yourself having to bite through your tongue in an effort to keep it for wagging, but that will still be better than saying things that shouldn’t be said. 

A wise person knows when (and how) to remain silent.

God Bless,

Our theme for this month: “Wisdom”

Our Bible verse for today: “I called to the Lord in my distress, and He answered me.” Jonah 2:2 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “Sometimes our biggest mistakes teach the greatest lessons.”

I have always enjoyed the story of Jonah. It’s outrageous and comical on the one hand, and yet it teaches powerful Biblical truths on the other hand. In the story God has a plan to give the evil people of Nineveh one last chance to repent. His plan involves sending Jonah to them to preach the good news that God will forgive their sins. But instead of running with God, Jonah runs away from God. Why? Not because he was afraid that they would reject the message. No, he was afraid they would accept it. Jonah hated the Ninevites and he didn’t want them to be saved. So he disobeyed God and ran in the opposite direction God wanted him to be going in. He got on a ship, went to sea, and sailed off over the horizon.

(Cue the whale) So God caused a storm at sea, the sailors threw Jonah overboard, and Jonah got swallowed by Moby Dick. That was a bad place for him to be, in the belly of a whale, but the situation did offer some hope too. I love the song the Newsboys sang about Jonah’s escapade, “In The Belly Of A Whale”. Have you ever heard it? It is so funny!

“I’m sleeping with fishes here (in the belly of the whale)

I’m highly nutritious here, (in the belly of the whale)

Woke up this morning kinda blue,

Thinking through that age old question,

If you Google the title you can listen to the song for free. It’s hilarious!

The thing about the story of Jonah is that it’s a true story not an allegory. We know this because in Matthew 12:39-41 Jesus referred to Jonah’s story as actual history. The reason it’s included in the Bible is because it teaches such powerful lessons. First we learn that it’s foolish to run away from God instead of with God. But in this story we also discover that many times our biggest mistakes become our best lessons. That was true for Jonah. As he spent those hours marinating in the whale’s digestive juices he had plenty of opportunity to ponder the error of his ways. Then we read the results of that introspection,in chapter two verse two, when we see that Jonah acknowledged that he was wrong and God was right. He then called out for God’s help and once he was delivered, he got busy doing what it was he was supposed to have been doing to begin with.

It’s a great little story; it’s true; and it’s not just for children. There’s a lot we can learn while we’re sitting in the belly of the whale. Many times our biggest mistakes turn out to be our best lessons and we end up wiser for it.

God Bless,

Our theme for this month: “Wisdom”

Our Bible verse for today: “And let us be concerned about one another in order to promote love and good works, not staying away from our worship meetings, as some habitually do, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.” Hebrews 10:24-25 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “The wise person recognizes the importance of Christian community.”

Why is it important for the people of God to be together as a faith community? For one thing, it’s because that’s the model Scripture gives us. In the Bible the people of God are always together in community. Community is an integral part of living the Christian life. So fundamental is the notion of community – the importance of being together – that even in that perfect environment in the Garden of Eden God deemed “alone” as being “not good” (Genesis 2:18). Human beings are relational by nature. We thrive in community and we wilt in loneliness. That’s why in prison the highest form of punishment is solitary confinement.

In Ecclesiastes 4:9, 12 Solomon wrote, “Two are better than one,” and “A cord of three strands is not easily broken.” What he meant to illustrate in those verses is “The power of together”. There is power in being together. There is support, encouragement, love, guidance, correction, and help. In Luke 5, four men carried their paralyzed friend to Jesus. When they couldn’t get into the room because of the crowds they hoisted him up onto the roof, broke through it, and lowered him by ropes into the presence of the Master. That’s the power of together. We do things for each other that we can’t do for ourselves. In Romans 12 Paul taught that we are all parts of one body, the Body of Christ, and we need each other.

Are you part of a strong and committed community of believers? If not, you’re missing an essential element in the life of a Christian. The Bible gives us no positive examples of Lone Ranger Christians. In every case we’re directed into community. The Christian who is wise in the ways of God recognizes the importance of Christian community.

God Bless,