By: Undre Griggs, Jr. When attempting to build unity, it is important to remember your actions will speak as loud as your words. The apostle Paul encourages us to make sure our actions are aligned with our words. If we want to understand God and His will, there is only one way to accomplish this. Reading His inspired word found in the Bible will enable you to know God on an intimate level. You will be able to see His passion, creativity, love and wrath. You will also see where His focus has been from the beginning. 2 Peter 1:20-21 (ESV): Knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. One of the things you will notice throughout Scripture is God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. This is important because that means no one should come with new a new revelation God “just told them.” The apostle Paul said, when that is which is perfect is complete (the Bible), that which is done in part (prophecies and other spiritual gifts) will be done away with (1 Corinthians 13:10). So how does God talk to us today? I went to a barbeque and there was a person there who was dressed to impress. He was wearing a suit, with designer sunglasses and loafers. Someone asked him about being overdressed for the occasions and he said that God told Him to wear those clothes. He said God wanted him to look good. He even went as far as to say God woke him up at 5:00am and told him to buy designer socks. As awesome as not having to decide what to wear each morning could be, God is not concerned about our fashion. Joshua 1:8 (ESV): This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. You will see throughout Scripture, the emphasis of God and His Spirit is on the Word. Most of the time you see the Holy Spirit being quoted in the New Testament, he is quoting God’s word in the Old Testament. The Holy Spirit was working through the apostles in a similar manner. The apostles were writing and quoting the revelation of the Holy Spirit in their writings. When the apostles were not quoting God, they were speaking from their own mind and conscious. This is why each writer in the Bible has a different and distinct writing style, without contradicting another. For matters outside of the word of God, the apostles spoke from their own thoughts and experiences. For matters pertaining to the word of God, the apostles spoke by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. If you cannot find a verse in the Bible telling you what socks to buy, then you should not expect the Spirit of God to share a personal revelation.
By: Undre Griggs, Jr. Do your words match your beliefs? I love how James asks for the wise and understanding to be identified. First, he is not necessarily asking for people to self-identify as “wise and understanding”. The way it is worded, it makes me think of the way the apostles told the early church to identify “seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom” (Acts 6:3). In both cases, the responsibility appears to be on the congregation to make the proper judgment. James 3:13-14 (ESV): Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. The reason is given in the next sentence. James, inspired by the Holy Spirit wants Christians to judge situations based on the evidence. If you want to know who the smartest person at your job is, you would not ask the employees what they thought about themselves - you would ask them to name others. As you keep hearing the same name, you can be confident you found your person. Romans 12:9-13 (ESV): Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. If someone believes he or she is a follower of Christ, how should you go about confirming this? The apostle Paul tells their love should be genuine. He then helps us understand what it means to have a genuine love. He tells us to abhor evil and cling to what is good. When someone identifies himself or herself as a follower of Christ, we should find out if they possess these traits. When we are asking others about the person, we should be trying to understand if they love others with brotherly affection, are zealous for the Lord, and show honor to others. Do they rejoice in the hope of salvation, are they patient when times get tough, and do they pray constantly? They also need to be supporting the church and looking for opportunities to be hospitable to the household of faith. To understand someone properly takes time and we should avoid making snap judgments. If we have the time to get to know someone, great; but if not, we are to see what those who know him or her say about him or her.
By: Undre Griggs, Jr Think of the person you consider as one of the calmest people you know. Why do you think of them that way? Is it the way they act with their kids, friends, or maybe how they respond to a foes? Whatever the reason, there is something that makes you consider that person calm and not easily angered. Proverbs 14:29 (ESV): Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly. Of all the reasons you listed, have you ever considered the fact that the person is understanding? Understanding people tend to be able to relate to others. They know they have made mistakes and they could easily be in a similar situation. It only takes a moment to make a decision, and it is easy to regret those decisions. There is a saying that if you live long enough, you will be rich and poor, young and old, wise and foolish, and even the righteous and the one out of line. By humbling ourselves and exalting others, we will find it effortless to relate to the other person and to remain calm. The person who lacks understanding will likely come off as self-righteous. They will see any misdeed as an egregious attack on their trust and they will find it difficult to forgive others. Their anger will fester because they believe they could never do anything like that to another person, and their lack of humility will always cloud their judgment. Proverbs 16:18-19 (ESV): Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor than to divide the spoil with the proud. It is always better to be a lowly person who finds friends among the poor and less fortunate. Even though they may be prosperous, the proud and self-righteous do not have enough understanding to save themselves from destruction. They live a life believing they are humble, obedient, and righteous; but the Judgment Day will prove otherwise. We see Scripture highlighting this with the parable of the Sheep and the Goat (Matthew 25:31-46) as well as the person who Jesus judged as lawless. The lawless person told Jesus he drove out demons in His name, but Jesus told Him to get away because He never knew him (Matthew 7:21-23). This is the destruction that a lack of understanding can cause in someone’s life. It is a foolish decision to live a life where you lean on your own understanding and not God’s. Choose to be humble, slow to anger, and striving for an understanding where you are aware enough to know whether you are living a righteous or self-righteous life.
By: Undre Griggs, Jr. James 5:3 (ESV): Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. The thought-provoking element about this verse is the fact that gold and silver do not actually corrode. The alloys or impure materials mixed with gold are what corrodes and are susceptible to rust. That is why rusted or corroded gold will be evidence used against us. Christians are to remain pure and unblemished from the world; so if our gold can rust, it must be impure and mixed with some tainted minerals. Ephesians 5:27 (NKJV): that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. On the last day, our judgment will be based on the word of God found in the Bible. John 12:48 (NIV): There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day. There is nothing more pure than God’s word, yet we find Christians frequently speaking where the Bible does not speak. With the best intentions we change concepts from the Bible to become less confrontational and more acceptable to the masses. In actuality, the road to destruction is the wide road that many will walk, while the narrow road is the path that leads to salvation. When we are entertaining to the masses, we are likely mixing what is pure with what is impure. Our focus should not be on the treasures of luxury found on earth, but on the treasures of righteousness found in heaven. Remember, those who store their treasures on earth will be susceptible to rust and corrosion, while those who store their treasures in heaven will remain pure and incorruptible. Matthew 6:19-21 (NKJV): “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. We cannot please both man and God. Every time we focus on the word of God, our treasures are being stored in heaven; every time we focus on the traditions of man, our treasures are being stored here on earth. Rusting is a slow process that happens over time – be ever vigilant and aware of where your treasures are being stored.
By: Undre Griggs, Jr. When it comes to pleasing God, He expects us to utilize all of our abilities to further His kingdom. Among many in the church today, there is the perception that woman cannot or should not work outside of the home. There is also the thought that men should not perform any of the work within the home. Matthew 25:24-27 (ESV): He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. The idea we can sit on any blessing, whether financial or physical is contrary to the teachings in the Bible. God expects us to utilize everything He has blessed us with, without exception. In the parable of the talent, the person who received one talent, returned one talent and God was not pleased. As a point of reference, a talent typically weighed 33 kg (75 lbs.) and gold finished the week at a value of $1,212.90 per ounce. We should always remember the immense value of a gift from God and show our appreciation by using our blessing for His glory. 1 Corinthians 10:31 (ESV): So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Whether the woman is working outside of the home or the man is working within the home, all things should be done for God’s glory. When we focus too much on the physical, we overlook the importance of the Spiritual. Ultimately, our work to further God’s kingdom is what pleases Him. Putting physical restrictions on the use of our blessings to keep one commandment at the expense of another is not. Both parents should make it a priority to raise faithful children. Whether they are working inside the home, outside of the home, or both does not guarantee this fact. Only by making it a priority to dedicate all of our blessings to furthering God’s kingdom can we guarantee our actions are pleasing to God.
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Dean Road
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