Tag: Christians

Slow to speak. Slow to anger.

by B Stoermer, posted in Bible, Thoughts, Uncategorized

The book of James is very practical for application in a Christian’s everyday life. In chapter 1, verses 19 and 20, James starts out by reminding the reader to “Understand this,” which notes that we must ponder and really consider the things that are discussed. It almost stands as a warning.

James then refers to those he write to as “Dear brothers and sisters.” Writing in such a fashion denotes that James cares deeply about the people who would read his letter. He wishes for them to take to heart the words that he shares. The words should be considered valuable.

As James continues he states, “You must be quick to listen, slow to speak.” This implies that listening is not a voluntary request. Each of us MUST listen. It is imperative. More specifically, we must be quick to listen. We should listen to others, but we should more importantly listen to God. He can speak to us through His Word, in prayer, or possibly through other people. The important things is that we must have ears to hear. We will not be able to listen if we are constantly speaking. As the saying goes, that is why God gave us two ears and one mouth. We should listen twice as much as we speak.

James continues his list by writing, “slow to get angry.” This can be a difficult task for you and I. There are situations and certain individuals that could cause us to explode. Yet, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, James reminds us to be slow to anger. If we are quick to listen to others, the anger should not fester within us because we are earnestly trying to understand what someone else is trying to say.

James continues in verse 20 by discussing “human anger [which] does not produce the righteousness God desires.” Human anger is self seeking. When we are in this state, we are not considering others, and we definitely are not thinking about God and how he would view the situation. We are not living the right way. Human anger can flare up when we are not in the Word of God. Our flesh takes on a sense of entitlement and we become blind to the feelings of others. I know we all have had a time when we grew angry and it overtook us, causing us to say something that we regret. We can look back and become baffled that we would ever say such a thing. Anger can cloud our judgment and it ultimately separates us from God. We are not producing the righteousness that God would desire. For this reason, James remind us to be quick to listen and slow to anger.

Jude

by B Stoermer, posted in Thoughts

Jude is a very short book of the Bible. One can simply read it in a few short minutes, but the content of the letter is full of important truths.

The letter begins with a simple greeting, “‘Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, To those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ: Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.'” Jude 1:1-2 First of all, it is pleasant that Jude is called a bondservant of God. Each believer should view themselves in such a way. According to history, a bondservant during this time period was a person that chose to remain a slave. He then addresses that he is writing to those that are called and sanctified by God the father and preserved in Jesus Christ. As Christians, we are each sanctified and preserved by God. God has forgiven each us of all our sins and sets us apart. He does not leave us alone, but continues to preserve us as we walk though life. Jude ends the greeting by wising the readers mercy, peace, and love, which is a beautiful sentiment.

As one continues to read the letter, they realize that Jude is cautioning and exhorting the reader to “…Contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.” Jude 1:3 In other words, Jude is telling believers that they need to continue to press on in their faith and be diligent to allowing the truths of God’s Word to cause them to grow in wisdom. To fight for the truth and ensure that it is sound. Watchful of others that utter it to see if it lines up with what God has said.

Jude then presents an issue that the church was facing: false teachers that were causing believers to be led astray.

“Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries.” Jude 1: 8

“These spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds with out water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots; raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.” Jude 1:12-13

“These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great words, flattering people to gain advantage. But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit.” Jude 1:16-19

As one reads these words, they are confronted with the vile behavior that is present in an individual that is not full of the Spirit. These people are parading around as “so-called Christians”, and spouting off ideas and doctrine that is contrary to the Word of God and their life does not line up with the Word of God either. A Christians that is rooted and grounded in the Word of God and that is observant of the times in which we live should be able to see that there are many people that can fall into the title false teacher. Today’s Christianity has been watered down and plated as a buffet line, where people can pick and choose what is appealing to them in the Bible, while glossing over passages that are deemed too controversial or somehow outdated. This is not right. Individuals that teach or present Biblical truth should teach the full counsel of God. People need to be aware of who God is and who they are by comparison. We need to see our need for Jesus. That each day we need the help of the Spirit to walk along the path of life, which requires discipline and obedience. Moreover, the Word of God should not be catered to people because of the climate of society. The contents of the Bible are often offensive to those that are perishing. We cannot dumb down and take out passages. Rather, each passage needs to be brought to light. People need to hear the Gospel, for it is the only thing that will save them. For those that are Christians, they should desire to read each passage to grow closer to God. Many people today are carnal and starve themselves from reading the Word of God. If someone else read from the Bible or claimed that a certain passages was in the Bible, those that are not digging into it themselves are left ignorant and not privy to false teaching. This is a sad reality, but it does not have to be the case.

The last portion of Jude focuses on the believer and maintaining a Godly life:

“But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keeping yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus unto eternal life. And on some have compassion making a distinction, but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh. Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to God our Savior, who alone is wise be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.” Jude 1:20-25

As a believer of Jesus, one must build up their faith. How does one build faith? By reading the Word of God. As we continue to read the Word of God, we can learn more about God and His love. We can obtain wisdom that will help us through this life. We will also cultivate a deeper relationship with Jesus. We must also continually pray to God with the help of the Holy Spirit. Prayer is very important. It is our direct line and communication with God other than the Word of God. As we read the Bible and pray to God, we will develop love for God and understand more about His love. As we learn and are filled up with the Spirit, we can begin to share the love of God with others. Jude notes that this love should drive us to have compassion on others. There will come a time when each of us will encounter people that need that touch of God and as God uses us we can be an extension of His love through our compassion. We can also show the love of God as we reach out and caution other believers that are going down the wrong path by…“pulling them out of the fire…” Jude 1:23 There are many people that need redirecting and need a more mature believer to provide them with wisdom and point them to Gods Word as it relates to different situations that are going on in their lives that are not pleasing to the Lord.

Jude ends by offering glory to God for who He is to each of us. God will never cause us to stumble. He will direct us and if we stumble on our own accord, He is there to pick us up. He sees us as righteous, faultless before Him as He has forgiven us of our sins and placed righteousness into our hearts. Knowing these things God is worthy of worship. “To God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen” Jude 1:25