TOLERANCE

Men, during my daily Bible reading plan, I was in James chapter 4.  Again, it is hard to be in the book of James and not find a juicy, meaty piece of truth that you can really chew on for a while.  The particular verse that got me this morning was James 4:4 You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.  

Reading this verse made me stop and think of the constant barrage from the world to be "tolerant."  You ever see those bumper stickers that spell out the word tolerance with the different symbols of different religions?  Ever wonder what tolerance Really means?  Webster's dictionary defines it for the world in several different ways:

• capacity to endure pain or hardship : endurance, fortitude, stamina
• sympathy or indulgence for beliefs or practices differing from or conflicting with one's own 
• the act of allowing something : toleration
• the allowable deviation from a standard; especial
• the capacity of the body to endure or become less responsive to a substance (as a drug) or a physiological insult especially with repeated use or exposure

I don't know about you guys, but that last one is the scariest of them all.  Just replace the parenthesis with (the world) and think of the body as the Body of Christ and I think you will see why I say its scary.

But what does God's Word say about "Tolerance?"  The word tolerance is translated from the word anochē.  Vines Expository Dictionary defines it as "a holding back."  It denotes "forbearance"...a delay of punishment.  In Romans 3:25 Paul is talking of God's forbearance with men; forbearance is the ground, not for His forgiveness, but His withholding of punishment.  In Romans 2:4 His forbearance represents a suspension of wrath which eventually must be exercised unless the sinner accepts God's conditions.

The world wants you to believe that you are a bigot, a racist, even hateful unless you are tolerant of the beliefs of others; to the world, tolerance means you have to accept these other belief systems or else you're not much of a Christian.  So what are we as Christians supposed to do with that?  Aren't we supposed to love our neighbor...even love our enemy?  YES!!  Emphatically YES!!  I encourage you to follow your Heavenly Father's lead in ALL things, but particularly in the case of "tolerance."  This is why He gave us His standard in His written word and His word says in James 4:4...friendship with the world = enemy of God.   I don't know about you guys...but I do NOT want to be an enemy of God.

You kiss your mother with that mouth???

Men,

During my quiet time this morning I was in James chapter 3.  How infinitely hard not to be convicted by reading the book of James?  In fact, if you're not convicted by the book of James, you're lying to yourself and you need to take a closer look in the mirror called "the Bible."  James 3:1-12 is about "The Tongue of Fire."  James is exhorting his audience that just as a small fire, sets aflame a great forest fire, "the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell."  

In verses 9-11, he is pointing out the same mouth that blesses the Lord, curses men.  These verses are probably the most painful verses in James.  How can we taste the sweetness of the Father's name and chase it with the bitterness of cursing other men?  After all, aren't ALL men "made in the likeness of God?  Isn't man the crowning glory of His creation?  How hypocritical of us, especially Christians, to curse others when before Jesus, we were just as worthy of such curses?

Men...I challenge you to read James 3 today and challenge yourself to bridle your tongue.

With all His love in me,

Danny

Are You Salty??

Men,

I was listening this morning (as I do every morning just about) to Wisdom for the Heart by Stephen Davy, and he was delivering a message from his series "The Depravity of Man...The Deliverance of God."  This series is an incredible explanation of the depravity of man as Paul describes in Romans 3:10-18.  Stephen "pulls off the blindfold to reveal the true condition of man."  It's a great tool for evangelizing because it is "far from depressing, because an honest self-understanding is the beginning of hope...hope in the One who can truly deliver."

The message today was entitled, "Seasonings of the Tongue."   In this message he is teaching about the "Divine Diagnosis of Mankind's Mouth," a reference to Romans 3:13 "Their throat is an open grave, with their tongues they keep on deceiving, the poison of asps is on their lips."  He lists several different kinds of tongues:

• a flattering tongue (Psalm 5:9),
• a proud tongue (Psalm 12:3),
• a lying tongue (Proverbs 6:17),
• a deceitful tongue (Psalm 120:2),
• a perverted tongue (Proverbs 10:31),
• a wicked tongue (Psalm 10:7),
• a soothing tongue (Proverbs 15:4),
• a destructive tongue (Proverbs 17:4),
• a gossiping tongue (Proverbs 25:23).

He goes on to say "It is the tongue which:

• makes or breaks apart a marriage,
• makes a home a pleasant environment or a desert,
• makes friends or loses them,
• strengthens a church or divides it,
• attracts people to Christ or repels them,
• honors God or curses Him.

Stephen continues throughout this message describing the deception, the untold damage, the internal despair that the tongue inflicts and reveals.  Then he reminded us of Jesus' words in Matthew 12:34 "...the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart."  DAGGER!!!!! It is heart wrenching for me to think of my life before knowing Jesus and the things that my tongue has done.  It is shameful to think of the things that my tongue SINCE I've been walking with the Lord. 

But then Stephen closes with a lesson of how we SHOULD live.  Colossians 4:6 says "Let your speech always be gracious, as though seasoned with salt..."  He explains how important the use of Salt is.  In Pauls day it was "akin to treasure."  It was used as currency in the market place.  Roman soldiers were paid in salt.  That's where we get the phrase, "a man's gotta be worth his salt."  Salt was valuable.  Stephen says "Just as salt makes food more palatable by enhancing the natural flavor of food, so choice words, used appropriately, enhance a person's reputation as being a gracious person."  He goes on to list some valuable words for us to use often and abundantly and I wanted to share them with you:

PLEASE - "When you say please, you are revealing humility and you are treating the other person, not as an object placed on earth to serve you, but as a person with dignity and honor."

Thank you - "When was the last time you thanked your wife for dinner.  Told her that it was delicious."

I appreciate you - " Talk about a treasure in words. Like flavoring to food – so these words bring spice and flavor to the heart."

I am sorry...I was wrong - "What rare words.  There are no loopholes in these words; there is
no escape clause; there are no excuses – just full admission."

I forgive you - "Perhaps there are no more powerful words in the human language than those.  There might be a marriage that would instantly  begin to heal, if those words were spoken.  There might be a relationship between a son and a father, business associates, two believers caught in conflict, whose lives would once again enjoy the flavor of life itself, if those words were spoken." 

Stephen shares an old prayer with us..." O Lord, fill my mouth with worthwhile stuff, and then nudge me when I’ve said enough.”

I have a question for you Men...ARE YOU SALTY?

Fresh Start - That's Gonna Hurt In The Morning!!!

[By Andy Richardson]

Men, if you can read this one and not be convicted...makes you go hmmmmmm.

Priorities matter. God before self. Service before pleasure. The temptation, though, is to reverse your priorities so that all you give to God and others the leftovers. After you have filled your savings account and paid your retirement funds and fixed up your house, then you will see what’s left for others and to share with God. After you mow the lawn and paint the kitchen you, then you will think about serving over at the church.

• Ask God to shake up your priorities today.

The prophet put it this way, “consider your ways” (Haggai 1:7). When Haggai finally made it back to Jerusalem from exile, the people were indulging themselves and neglecting God’s worship. They had houses with paneled walls, but the Temple lay in ruins. Their priorities were backwards, and God was greatly displeased with them. What about you? Do you need to reorder your life so that it honors God more and you less? Don’t wait any longer... consider your ways carefully, today.

What He did not do!

Glory Hallelujah He is Risen!!!  He is Risen indeed!  Those of us who know the Lord are celebrating this day because it is the day that our Savior beat death and demonstrated His Glory by rising from the dead JUST LIKE HE SAID HE WOULD!  Why did He go to the cross for us?  He went to the cross to save us from our sins, past present and future.  He went to the cross to redeem us.  He went to the cross to restore our fellowship with God the Father.  He went to the cross to do that which we could not do for ourselves...pay the price for our own sin..."For the wages of sin is death..." Romans 6:23  Praise God that He loved us so much that He sent His only begotten son so that we would not perish but have eternal life.

But on this day of celebration, do we forget what He did NOT do for us?  He did not crush us for the sins we committed yesterday, or the day before or the day before...instead...He crushed His son.

The thought of what He did not do to me, that which I deserved, makes what he DID do for me, that which I did not deserve, so entirely more beautiful and wonderful.

HOSANNA!!!  HOSANNA IN THE HIGHEST!!!

Untouched

Despite being 1/4 of mile away from the destructive path of a tornado that hit Raleigh this past Saturday, PRAISE GOD, we are safe and uneffected. We lost power for less than 24 hours and there are no signs in our immediate neighborhood that a tornado passed through. Unbelievable!

HOWEVER, the damage that did occur near us is pretty bad. One of the main roads (right around the corner) into the heart of the city is still blocked off and there are many businesses that got demolished.

Who knew NC could be a place of almost 90+ tornadoes in one day. We are not in Kansas anymore.

Below is the video

Fresh Start - Heal My Heart O Lord!

[By Andy Richardson]

I’m going home from the hospital today after receiving emergency heart treatment. God gave me a great medical team who pulled me back from the brink just in the nick of time. They also burned out some nerves in my heart that have been troubling me since birth, so that hopefully, I won’t struggle so much in the future. I thank each of you for your concern and your prayers.

• Ask God to heal your heart today with His love and His grace.

God loves to do heart surgery of the spiritual kind, too. The Psalmist put it this way, “Create in me a clean heart, O Lord, and renew a steadfast spirit in me” (Psalm 51:10). If you are like me, you probably minimize the seriousness of your heart problem, but God doesn’t. He calls it sin. But, the good news is that He wants to heal your heart if you will just let Him. Read His word today, and ask His Spirit to show you where those damaged nerves are in your heart of hearts. As soon as He sets things right again, you will be ready to go home too!

I know that I speak for many people when I say...WELCOME HOME ANDY!