I’ve been thinking about how we Christians can get accustomed to speaking or writing Bible verses to one another and to the public in social media. It’s very good to know the scripture and proclaim it! It is Truth. But if we’re not alert, attentive and wise we can begin to believe our own truth and the “truth” of our culture, “the world” as the Bible tells us. We can justify our actions or thoughts and not allow the power of the Word, the Truth, to teach us, lead us, discipline us – where the word “disciple” is derived.
My men’s group, Fight Club, has been going through James. James was teaching the very first church! Knowing that, we can understand why the Holy Spirit was leading James to speak so boldly about being doers of the Word, not just hearers. Being a Christ follower, a disciple, was a radical choice – a life-threatening choice. I wonder if James felt some pressure to get this right!?
Today, we have the scriptures at-hand whenever we want them – even on our phones. It is human nature to let things that are so readily available become normalized – we take them for granted. The Word (written and through the Holy Spirit) is living and active. It is Life and Power all of the time – available to change us and direct us into a deeper and more meaningful relationship with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit – and with one another.
Relationships are hurting in America. God has been directing me to pray over relationships. Sometimes we take our relationships for granted. It is so easy to point the finger at each other. And to be sure, the other person may be wrong. But God is showing me our relationship problems are directly related to each individual not being a doer of the Word. He is telling me that the Church, disciples of Christ, the Salt and Light, need to get back to the basics of Christianity. I’m hearing the Holy Spirit saying we are talking about our faith but not living our faith. We are allowing our emotions to dictate our choices. Husbands and wives, parents and children, friendships, singles, young people, are being attacked and divided by the devil.
But God is saying, “Do things My way”, “resist the devil”, and yet we don’t listen and obey. I know – it’s tough. Our humanity doesn’t like to be challenged. It’s the other person’s job to make things right for me! But your truest self, the new you in Christ thrives on doing things God’s way! He has true freedom, joy and blessings for us!
This has gotten longer than I expected, but God didn’t want me to stop. One final exhortation. This is for men – and it will sting. We are called to lead by example – in marriage, with children, in church, with our nation, and more. This has been God’s divine order since the Beginning. We have been deceived for too long by psychology and the culture, and poor teaching. We are to follow Christ first, as true disciples, even if wives or others we are leading won’t. This is what Jesus did – all the way to the cross, even while were not caring about Him. This is the calling of men of God. As we demonstrate this over and over, and persevere, others around us may “get it” and join us. But the real benefit to men is that we get closer and more intimate with God in our true identity. Consider and ponder why David was a man after God’s heart. As men we can ALL relate to failure, fear and shame. And difficult relationships. So did David. What was he doing differently than us? How is he an example for us?
If any reading this post are willing to dig in as disciples and be changed into more abundant men and women of God, a link is below to the book of James. It’s a great place to come back to the basics of Christianity!
