Real Live Faith

More and more it seems everyone is an expert on the Bible. They have mastered just about everything there is to know or learn in the 66 chapters of Genesis all the way to Revelation.

Can I give you a tip for the New Year? Don’t “pick a word” for this year.

As believers, we shouldn’t need a holiday to remind us to give thanks to the Lord and praise Him for who He is and what He has done on our behalf. Giving thanks to Him should be second nature – something we do with each breath we breathe.

Who do you consider wise? Sometimes it’s hard to discern if a person is truly wise or if they are just really good at playing the part. I think it’s too easy to assume people are wise because they do a good job deceiving and convincing us otherwise.

Have you ever heard someone say, “The devil made me do it”? Sometimes the devil gets a lot of credit or blame when we don’t want to admit our own guilt. The enemy may try to tempt you, but he has no power to force your hand. That decision to act on temptation solely belongs to you.

One of the most painful things to witness in a brother or sister of Christ is their willful ignorance and disobedience to God’s Word. Seeing their sin and watching their disobedient choices made time and time again can make you feel helpless in their struggle.

Have you ever been quick to call or text a friend or family member and just start venting, ranting, complaining, and flooding them with verbal vomit? James 1:19-20 remind us to “be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger.”

We get tempted to pour our life into this world that is fading away. But we are cautioned in the Bible not to place our identity in earthly things. People, relationships, government, careers, worldly status. They are all poor substitutes for Christ. Earthly things can never be our Savior. Those things can’t save us. They can’t provide what the Lord can. Those things will always fail us, but the Lord will never fail us.

James 1:2, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials.” Count it all – joy?! All of it? Well, if you’ve ever gone through a trial, these words right off the bat may catch your attention and perk your ears. Because maybe instead of counting or considering it all joy, you count it as loss?

If we are willing to lay down our life and die to self, God can bear fruit in our lives and do something far greater than we could ever do on our own, alone.