Cut off Temptation

"And have no Fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them." ~Ephesians 5:11

Take a moment and do a general evaluation of you life as to whether or not it falls into one of the following categories.

"But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them." ~Ephesians 5:3-7

Likewise, exhort the young men to be sober-minded, in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility, sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you." ~Titus 2:6-8

(There are other passages that speak of what is good and what is bad, but they are too many to mention.)

Now think on these questions:

1. Take a specific point from your life.
2. Does Scripture commend or condone it?
3. If you're unsure, ask for others' opinions
4. If this is a good habit or trait, keep and cultivate it. If it is a bad trait, immediately seek to destroy it.

Many people, including Christians, struggle with earthly things. Still more struggle with the thought that their things are "harmless". What this really means is that it is useless. Now I'm not talking about kitchen utensils. I don't think that the rich young ruler would have classified them in his wealth.

"Yes, I have 45,692 Cutco knives, 61,783 Pampered Chef serving spoons, and 101,101 Oxo cheese graters."

Other things may not necessarily be habits or traits, but they can be a temptation. For instance, our family decided to not have TV. We still watch videos, but we felt that being able to choose what went on screen was something that TV didn't have. Now some things like TIVO gave this trait. We were also watching a show in our car the other day. But after the bible study we were at was over, (which is where I got the topic) my mom asked us about the show. We decided that the show wasn't very good and actually fell into some of the "bad" categories. Many things evade our gaze for a long time. Sometimes I have thought something was okay, but then some passage or something that someone says, "Jumps Out" at me and shows me that what I thought was good, is actually the opposite. We must constantly evaluate what will encourage us to become more like Christ. If anything is a stumbling block we must get rid of it, or in Paul's words, "Cut it off." May you always be evaluating your activities and may you always know what will be profitable and what won't. God bless!

Your Brother in Christ
Corey

Words are Important!

"In the Multitude of words sin is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is wise. The tongue of the righteous is choice silver, the heart of the wicked is with little. The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of wisdom. The blessing of the Lord makes me rich, and He adds no sorrow with it." ~ Prov. 10:19-22

Yesterday I was talking with my mom about a pamphlet Mr. Kayser wrote. It is called Leader Development. It is basically a checklist for young men (though it can also be used for men, not just young ones) to evaluate what they need to work on in order to become godly leaders. The very first section is titled "Communication". After I went through the list, I found just what I expected; I don't talk enough. My favorite question was, "I don't always speak my mind but instead seek to be short on words." I got a perfect score on that one.

There are some benefits to little speaking, but also many weak points. As the passage above says, "In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is wise." But as my mom pointed out, we communicate, fellowship, relate to, encourage, evangelize, teach, lead, and understand people because of words. So there is a fine line between speaking the right amount and speaking too little. But we should not go to the other extreme of talking too much. Looking at the first line at the top, we see that Proverbs says that "in a multitude of words sin is not lacking" So we draw another line between speaking the right amount and speaking too much.

"Wisdom is found on the lips of him who has understanding" ~ Prov. 10:13

The passage up top says that the words of the righteous are like "choice silver." Our words should be like honey to those who hear us. Even if we speak correctively, we should be able to have it be loving correction. There is an old saying which I am sure you have heard:

"If you have nothing nice to say, don't say it."

But I think it should go like this,

"If what you have to say will harm someone needlessly, don't let your mouth speak. But if what you have to say will build up and not in the least destroy, don't hesitate to say it."

May you bring every thought and word captive. God bless you in all you do!

Your Brother in Christ,
Corey

"Life isn't fair"

“Life isn’t fair’” ~Many, many, many people

Dear Corey,

Many of us, at one time or another, have heard the quote above. In most contexts we have heard it as a disappointment, when someone does or gets something we want as well. We should not be sorry that the world is unfair. On the contrary, we should be praising God at the top of our lungs. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”

Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.” If we accept these to be true, as we should, we see that; everyone has sinned and deserves death and nothing w can do will save us. If the world and life was fair we would ALL burn in hell.

So next time you think life is unfair, praise God that it is and congratulate the people/person that received the blessing.

Your BIC,

Nick