There are many reasons for fear and anxiety, and they all stem from a failure to understand the power and grace of our God. We try to control our circumstances and the people around us. We want people to like us and are devastated when we are not accepted the way we want to be. We try so hard to please the people around us, and no matter how hard we try we never seem to make everyone happy. What are we to do? We must start by recognizing that the one person that we need to please with EVERYTHING we do is the Lord! We want to hear, “Well done thou good and faithful servant” we must strive to do everything to His glory. In doing so, we must understand that we can never please everyone. The goal is to please God, and if we have done that, we can look in the mirror at the end of the day and be content that we have done our best in our circumstances. Be it, family, work, home, or any circumstance, we must do our best before the Lord. Our best today, may not be as good as tomorrow, or … READ MORE

It seems that often it is easier for us to complain about what we are to do, than actually step up and do the job. In Numbers 13, the nation of Israel was at Kadesh-Barnea and God told them to go occupy the promised land. They sent in 12 men to spy out the land, and those 12 came back with a report. 10 of them complained that the task would be to hard, and the nation mistook God’s directive as a democracy rather than a Theocracy. Their complaints lead the nation to decided that it would not be wise to go into the land at this time, and as a result, God caused them to wander in the wilderness 40 years (Until all who rebelled died). This is a reminder that we should not look at the giants before us and allow them to lead us to complain about the work it will take to remove them. Complaining is the symptom of a deep-seated spiritual problem – a failure to trust God and submit to His will. not only does complaining corrupt our hearts, and attitudes, it is a contagious problem that affects those around us. We must learn … READ MORE

People don’t care what you know, they want to know how much you care! The only way to do that is to put your words into action. In James 2:14 we are asked, “What does it profit, if someone says they have faith but does not have works? Can faith save them?” James is not saying that this person actually has saving faith, but rather that the person claims to have saving faith. Actions speak louder that words, and you can claim all you want that you are a “Christian” but if your walk does not match your talk, you better reevaluate your talk. In this passage the orthodoxy of what the person is saying is not in question, what is in question is the evidence of their claim. The type of works that James has already talked about are: Endurance (1:3) , perseverance under trial (1:12) purity of life (1:21), obedience to scripture (1:22-23) , impartiality (2:1-9) and he will later talk about acts of compassion (2:15), control of the tongue (3:2-12), Humility (4:6, 10), truthfulness (4:11), and patience (5:8). It is interesting that this involves the inward integrity of the believer. As a Christian there should be an … READ MORE