“¹⁹Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; ²⁰for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. ²¹Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.” –James 1:19-21 (ESV)

There is a good amount to take from these verses, but what I have been brought to this morning is related to the ability of the Word to save your soul. I am always looking for the nuggets of information to drive me to improvement and in verse 19 it begins with “let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak”. I witness people engaged in discussion with others and as I watch, it seems as though there is always one person that does all the talking, and usually, that person is the one that should truly be doing the listening. As noted in verse 19, we are to listen first and then speak.

It is a wonder what we will find when we listen first. In the context of these verses, it is up to us to hear the Word of God and when we do, we receive that which is able to save us. When we are listening, we are able to pick up the nuances of God’s Word that is said but not fully understood by just the mere words themselves. We are able to apply the Word of God in the context it was meant and not just based on the words that are said in passing.

The other part of listening to the Word of God is that we are able to avoid the pitfalls that come with reactionary actions. We slow down and focus which can remove us from harms way. Think about the time that you spent a few minutes praying and talking with God prior to a road trip. Once you are on the road, you come upon an accident that had happened 5 minutes before your arrival. Your time spent talking with and listening to God took you out of harms way and you were not in the accident, but came upon it.

The Word of God “is able to save your soul” in more ways than one. The opportunity for me to listen carefully and apply the Word in my life will lift me up out of adversity and make my pathway clear. It is up to me to engage with God and not just pray to Him, but listen to Him as He speaks.

When you are out there in the world, are you the one that does all of the talking? Are you willing to open your ears and listen to the Word of God? Will you allow the Word to be “able to save your soul”?

One of the marks of leadership is not asking your followers to do something that you have not are are not willing to do yourself. I know that I have worked under those that simply tell you what to do and give no hints or indication that they have or are willing to get their hands dirty because they are “too valuable” to do that kind of work. As the worker, I get really put off by this and have very little if any respect or willingness to follow such a person.

This could not be farther from the truth of Jesus. If you will remember, He followed God’s instruction to the letter even to the point of death. He has been there and frankly experienced more than any of us will ever experience. And he is more than willing to let us know of what occurred so we will know that He does understand.

“⁹But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.¹⁸For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” – Hebrews 2:9 & 18 (ESV)

You see, Jesus spent time in this world, walking as we do. He was subjected to all, if not more adversity than we. He suffered so much that He died, and yet he stayed the course so that we would not have to suffer the same fate. What a mark of being willing to do and actually getting His hands dirty in the work. Jesus, although He is the Son of God, was not “too valuable” to get out there and work right alongside His brothers and sisters to demonstrate the example of what right looks like.

Jesus is able to help us, first of all because He is who He is, but secondly, He knows what we are experiencing. Jesus tackled the world just as we do and as such understands what it is we are experiencing and offers His hand in help as one who knows the struggle first hand.

When you are in the world, where are you looking for help? What if you were to get the help from someone that had been there before? Is Jesus on the top of the list of those that you lean on for guidance and assistance?

I have chosen a career in learning. As a corporate training professional it is my chosen field to teach and transfer knowledge to others so that they may grow.

“²⁴And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, ²⁵correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, ²⁶and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.” – 2 Timothy 2:24-26 (ESV)

Here you see Paul’s words to Timothy that he is to be “able to teach”. But there is a lot more to it that we should take away. Paul points out that the teaching is for the good of the people that hear and bring glory to God in that “God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth”. This fits in line with my career in the corporate and business world, but more importantly in my life and path as a Christian. I bring glory to God and grant Him the opportunity to reach others. My teaching allows the learners to escape the devil’s bondage and join God in the glory that He presents to each of us.

“¹⁹But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: ‘The Lord knows those who are his,’ and, ‘Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.’” – 2 Timothy 2:19 (ESV)

It is my duty to teach the gospel to all, and God will take over from there. He “knows those who are his”, and He will reach them. I am there to bring the opening words to them and to plant the seeds of blessings to come from knowing The LORD. I have to remember that it is my job to teach them and turn them to God so that they can know Him and accept Him as their savior and allow Him to inhabit their hearts.

I have to be careful not to take it personal if/when I am rejected or oppressed for my beliefs and what I bring in the teaching that I am directed by God. He already has the path and results planned out for me and for Him. I am here to follow that path and strive for the results, knowing that as I am doing His will, I am bringing glory to Him. Whether or not my teaching reaches everyone, is not my concern. I am to do the work and allow glory to be to God.

What teaching are you doing and what are your expected results of that teaching? Are you doing it for you or for the glory of God? What if you taught all and allowed God to take it from there?

I will say that I have shortchanged the ability of God. I know that I have not given Him the chance to do ALL that I needed accomplished and took, and frankly take, to doing things on my own simply in the effort to get it done faster or because I did not believe that He was even working. What a heel I have been in those instances.

God will and does all that is needed to be done. He works to accomplish His work and sometimes that work is not in line with what I want. And that is okay by me, although I may not always see or act that way in the moment.

It is important for me to remember that God is doing the work that needs to be done and He is able to do and will do more than we know. He is working at all times and although it may not seem as though He is with us as we face adversity and obstacles, those may just be in the way to slow us down while He prepares the way for us to be successful.

“²⁰Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, ²¹to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” – Ephesians 3:20-21 (ESV)

God is way more capable than we generally give Him credit for. I admit to holding onto actions for myself, as I have questioned whether God would grant them to me in His wisdom. As such, I have not given Him the ability to be my Heavenly Father and grant me that which I seek. I may want for things and whereas God will provide for my needs, He will also provide some of my wants as a blessing to me for the actions that I have done for Him and in His name. It is not up to me to decide what He will give, it is up to me to ask for those things that I want, and if those happen to be in God’s plan for me, I will be given them with all blessing as He is able to and will do more than we give Him credit.

What out there have you shortchanged God’s ability to do or give? Are you working to do the will of God, or are you still working for yourself? What if you just gave everything to God and allowed Him to provide for your needs and wants as He sees fit?

How much do we remember of the suffering and enduring of Jesus? Well, He endured the temptations of Satan in the wilderness and of course the sufferings even to the point of death. I don’t know about you, but those were some pretty profound events that demonstrate just how much endurance Jesus had as He traveled this world.

How much temptation and suffering are we enduring each day? Well:

“¹³No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” – 1 Corinthians 10:13 (ESV)

However much we are experiencing, God provides our way of taking it on and coming out on the other side still following Him and spreading the Gospel. God knows that we are human and that there are temptations that will arise daily. As such, He also makes sure that we have the tools to overcome them.

Daily I am presented with many opportunities to stray from the following of God and where I would like to say I always choose the righteous path, that would not be the truth. Sometimes I unconsciously take the path of least resistance and other times I consciously take the easy way. That is the difficulty of being here in this world and being human. I am presented with the ways of the world and have the opportunity to choose that way or the way of God.

As I just mentioned, I have not always, and will not always choose the right path. But, and here is the best part, God will always love me and provide the way for me to escape the wrong path. He knows I will stray, and although He does not want me to, He provides me the free will to choose and the free will to choose to come back to the right path with Him.

Here is where we have to be careful. We do not have the open season to actively walk away from God and only come back to Him when things get too tough for us and ask Him to take away our suffering. We must not use God as the safety net and take unmitigated risk in the world. What we are able to do is do His will each and every day, knowing that He is right there with us and will make sure that we are able to get through all of the trials, tribulations, temptations, and sufferings that will come with the tasks He asks of us as we do His will.

When you are in the world, are you always doing the will of God? What if you focused your attention to doing that which is pleasing to God? Did you know that God will provide your way to escape adversity so that you are able to endure all the difficulty presented?

“²⁵Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages ²⁶but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— ²⁷to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.” – Romans 16:25-27 (ESV)

God provides for us through all that He does and it best part is that He told us long ago about what He was going to do. See there in verse 26 as Paul exclaims that all of the prophets were true and their prophesies, at this time, were coming true. What a testament to the glory of God. He said what would happen and low and behold, it is happening.

I look around in the world and see so many examples of the exact opposite going on. And those goings on are coming from those that the world says we are to be in awe of, only to find that they are not the upstanding bearers of the truth that they have been made out to be. And when they fail, the excuses abound to “save” their reputation and make them out to be victims of some sort.

These are things that I have to remember to take with me daily into this world. With God, this does not happen. God is full of integrity in all that He does. He says it will be done and then it is. He does not lie and He does not deceive. God has a plan and that plan will be carried out. He made His plan known through the prophets and then carried them out and proved those plans and prophesies correct.

Thanks to the integrity and love that God has for me, I can trust that what He says, He will do. I have to continuously remember and be reminded of that and take it with me into the world. His love and integrity make it possible to for me to now be able to give all glory to Him as Paul exclaims in verse 27 above.

When you approach the world, what is your view of the integrity it has to offer? How are you bringing the integrity and love of God into the world? Are you now able to give all glory to God?

“³⁸For I am sure that neither death nor life, or angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” – Romans 8:38-39 (ESV)

I have studied the above passage a couple of times before in the past few years. Each time, God reminds me or teaches me something slightly different, but always related. This morning I am reminded that no one or nothing is “able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord”.

It seems like that is something that would be difficult to forget, especially as a Christian. Aren’t I supposed to be studying and following to do all things in the image of Christ and with that I am able to receive all the goodness that God has to offer? Well yes, but I also have to remember that I am man and prone to the influence of those things that are right there around me at all times. I am suspect to what I see and the rose colored glasses view of all that is presented to me by the world.

I have to remember that even though I may be distracted and influenced by the world and all that is in verse 38 and 39a from above, it is God’s love that He heaps on me that I am not able to escape. I have accepted the love and salvation provided by Him through the death of Jesus on the cross and because of that, I will never be plucked from His hand. I am His and He loves me unconditionally and demonstrates that as He allows me to experience life in the world. He knows that I am going to stray from Him and as I wrote in November of last year, His GPS keeps us connected to Him and we are able to activate it at any time.

We are going to stray off the path that God has in store for each of us. When we do, we have to remember that God’s love has not and will not leave us and that love cannot be taken from us by any other force. We are always able to connect to the love of God through our acceptance of salvation thanks to the death and resurrection of Jesus.

What force in life is driving a wedge between you and God? Are you able to identify it fully? Did you know that force is only separating you from your conversations with God and that His love is never separate from you?

God has a plan for each of us and those plans will find themselves completed. The path to the finality of the plan may play out differently than we might believe it to play out, but the final result will be that which God has put in place for each of us.

“‘³⁹but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!’ So they took his advice,” – Acts 5:39 (ESV)

Gamaliel was speaking to the high priest and all the council. He had laid out the reason that they should be careful in dealing with the apostles. His words ring true I believe to each of us in that when God’s plan is in action, we are powerless to think that we can overcome those plans. The finality of the plans of God will come out regardless of how we may be able to “slow” them down with our actions here as man. Man’s plans however will fizzle out eventually.

“’³⁶For before these days Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. ³⁷After him Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and drew away some of the people after him. He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered.³⁸So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail;’” – Acts 5:36-38 (ESV)

How many other times have we read or heard in the bible of man rising up on their own and ultimately being overthrown by a small band of those that are following God. Man is of no power against God and as such, His plans will ultimately win out and come to finality with the result He had planned for.

I should learn from my failings of the past. I should know that my plans, whereas they may be thought of in/with good intentions, when they are not in line with the plans of God, they will fizzle and fail. It is my duty to align myself with the plans that God has in store for me and when I do, I will be sure to find victory in the end, as God’s plans are not able to be stopped.

What plans have “you” enacted that may not have reached finality? Were those plans in line with those that God had in store for you? What if you were to align with the plans that God has for you, would anyone be able to stop them?

It is certainly one thing to say we are committed to something or someone, and something else entirely to be committed. As someone that enjoys sports and have a son that at one time was considering playing college sports, I see and know of the “commitments” made by young athletes to play for a school and then “decommit” later for one reason or another, usually because that got a “better” offer from somewhere else. What is that saying about the commitment that was originally made?

In Matthew 20, the mother of James and John asked Jesus about them sitting at His right and left hand in heaven. Jesus’ response was one of checking on the commitment of the men.

“²²Jesus answered, ‘You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?’ They said to him, ‘We are able.’” – Matthew 20:22 (ESV)

Jesus was asking the James and John to fully commit to Him and they did.

“²³He said to them, ‘You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.’” – Matthew 20:23 (ESV)

And as Jesus was in tune with God the Father, He acknowledged that they were indeed committed fully to Him and to the task of spreading the gospel. And then He tells them that the choice of who sits where was not His decision to make. That God the Father was the decision maker and had already predetermined all and who would be where.

My take away here is that it is up to me to commit to Jesus and then just stay with it and do the work He asks of me. Once committed, I am committed and it is my duty to honor that commitment to the end. There is no “better” offer coming nor should I be looking for one. It will not be easy and certainly there may/will be times that I am frustrated with the timing and outcomes I can see, but God sees and knows way further into the upcoming than I and therefore I am to simply trust that what is happening is in His plan.

What commitments have you made to God? Where are you in relation to honoring those commitments? What if you stick with your commitment, what are your thoughts on how it might play out?

How often is it that we ask for something from God and then forget about His ability while we press forward to get it as if He were not even there. I know that I have gone out of my way to pursue things that may not have been in the plan of God for me and my life.

“²⁷And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, ‘Have mercy on us, Son of David.’ ²⁸When he entered the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus said to them, ‘Do you believe that I am able to do this?’ They said to him, ‘Yes, Lord.’ ²⁹Then he touched their eyes, saying, ‘According to your faith be it done to you.’” – Matthew 9:27-29 (ESV)

These men wanted something badly and no matter how much they pressed on themselves, there was nothing they could do to achieve it. Blindness is something that even with today’s technology and knowledge, is elusive except in rare instances. These men knew there was only one that could provide for them. Only one that could take care of their need. Only one that could do the impossible. Jesus. They were convinced of it and therefore did not give up. See how they “followed him” and “came to him” in the house that I am sure they were not a part of, but did not want to miss this opportunity.

I am encouraged by these men and the way they demonstrated reliance on Jesus. They were in a position of needing help and knew that only one could provide for that need and would not give up. They left it all for Jesus to do as they understood that they were powerless to achieve it on their own. What does that say about me and how I approach things. Am I totally reliant on God to provide for my needs. Am I taking things on my own that really only God can do for me. Am I blind and seeking help in the wrong areas and avoiding placing my reliance on God.

Where is your reliance for the things you need? Are you taking things on your own that maybe you should be giving to God? What if you relied on God because He is able to do all and provide for all?