In the War of Words, It's {Still} Time for a Better Word

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In the War of Words, It's {Still} Time for a Better Word

I love words, but I am so tired of them. Seriously, the twisting and manipulating, the demeaning and degrading, it all has me completely worn out.

I wrote a blog post last year entitled In the War of Words, It’s Time for a Better Word, and I guess you could consider this post a part 2, because ironically, I have a few more words to say about these wars our words are waging. The emotional ammunition with which we keep firing back keeps us all raging. It’s a vicious cycle. Ya wanna know why?

Because we keep opening our mouths before we open God’s Word, or rather, we may be opening It, but we certainly aren’t doing what It says.

And since this battle we find ourselves in “is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12), we must “put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, we may be able to stand our ground, and after we’ve have done everything, to stand.” (Ephesians 6:13)

Why are we fighting with our words when God has called us STAND on His Word and SPEAK His Word? It is the only offensive weapon in our armor. We must wield well the Sword of the Spirit if we are to defeat the enemy, the god of this world, the author of lies, the deceiver of souls by taking down his strongholds, dividing his lies from God’s truth, and setting his captives free to experience true victory in Jesus.

Yes, indeed, the very Word of God is sharper than any double edge sword, and It is the only weapon we need to defeat the enemy. Our words are merely weapons against each other and do nothing to defeat the real enemy.

We must stop using OUR words (our explanations and definitions) because they are skewed ever so slightly to fit into OUR point of view, and they will always fall short of the target of the enemy.

Nuance and semantics allow us to say a whole lot while really saying nothing at all. Because without the power of God behind them, words will always fall short. They will always be misunderstood. They will always be used to confuse. They will always be manipulated to elevate one group/person while putting down the next. It is simply the way of the world, and our words will always go that way apart from God’s Word and His Way.

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Obedience, Faith, & Agreement will Accompany a True Believer (and not Just When it's Convenient)

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Obedience, Faith, & Agreement will Accompany a True Believer (and not Just When it's Convenient)

It’s been a couple weeks since my last blog post, so who’s ready for another Sunday sermon recap?!?

Actually, as an introduction, I’m also going to share a couple truths from last Sunday’s sermon as well. Pastor Morris Brown brought a word a week ago about God’s Word, our Absolute Truth, and Pastor Joe Green brought another one yesterday about Obedience, Faith, & Agreement.

The Word of God is not only full of power packed truths. It is the Absolute Truth. The final say. It does not return void. It will not return to the Father in Heaven without having accomplished what He intended it to do here on earth!

So why on earth would we not choose to obey it, have faith in it, and agree with what it says? I can tell you, the alternative doesn’t bode well temporarily and doesn’t end well in light of eternity.

God gave us His Word for a reason. He wants us to read it, apply it, and live by it. And the ONLY way to do that is through OBEDIENCE, FAITH, and AGREEMENT.

What does that mean?!? I’m glad you asked. Here’s an answer through the wisdom I gleaned from the words of Pastor Green...

Honestly, these three words are one in the same. Of course, if you looked them up in the dictionary, the definitions would vary, but hear me out as and you’ll better understand what I’m talking about as we look at a few passages of scripture and dig a little deeper into the meaning of and the power behind these three words.

I’ll start with the same question Pastor Green asked the congregation on Sunday morning:

Do you love love God or do you just like love God? In other words, where is your devotion?

Is your love merely lip service and maybe occasionally attending a church service, or is it all consuming so much so that it has you daily pursuing?

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Unity Centered Around You and Me is Not True Unity as God Intended it to Be. Actually, it’s Idolatry.

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Unity Centered Around You and Me is Not True Unity as God Intended it to Be. Actually, it’s Idolatry.

Unity centered around you and me is not true unity as God intended it to be. Actually, it’s a form of idolatry. Any “unity” that calls for coming together while leaving God out will fail. It will fall. God will have no other gods before Him. Man made unity held together by worldly ideologies is a false god. It will will unravel at the seams, because it is far more destructive than it seems.

Disobeying God’s instruction always leads to destruction.

Just look at the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11. In verse 4 we see the very reason for their construction of the tower was to protect or control their unity “lest they be dispersed over the face of the earth.” They sought man made unity by “making a name for themselves.” Man made unity will always give a false sense of security. What they created God frustrated. He confused their language and dispersed them.

When we do things our way, we will always be led astray, but when we do things God’s way, He will protect and bless as we obey.

Pastor Joe Green brought a WORD today on UNITY in the first of a two part sermon series centered around Pentecost.

Pastors, your people need you to boldly proclaim God’s truth in a world that is constantly feeding them lies. Today’s Godless culture is nothing new. It’s reminiscent of others that have made brick and mortar towers and golden calves, and more recently, these graven images appear in the form of Godless ideologies and man made philosophies.

Collin Hansen said “Many pastors are trying to have the “both and” mentality in an “either or” world and it’s pulling their churches at the seams.”

We are either for God or we are against Him. There is no “both and” in His “either or” call for devotion and loyalty. He requires an undivided heart. Hot or cold. Not lukewarm. We must choose between God’s way and the world’s. We cannot do both. When we choose one, we must reject the other.

“You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” ~ James 4:4 ESV

So, in the words of Pastor Green, let’s remember these 5 things…

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Here Am I for the Great I Am: Making Sense of Obedience

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Here Am I for the Great I Am: Making Sense of Obedience

Recently, my Monday mornings have been spent pouring over my notes from Sunday sermons. When you are given such rich truths, you want to make sure they take root!

Sunday morning, Pastor Joe opens the Word and brings a word. He then challenges us with that word to obediently live the Word so we can give the Word to a world desperate for a word. We know that the only word that can bring a word worth hearing and heeding is God‘s Word, so we’ll start there again today (and every day), as we learn what it truly means to trust and obey...

Genesis 22. I’m sure you’re familiar with this passage. I thought I was, too, until I found out Isaac was much older than I had imagined him when he made the multiple day journey with his father to Mount Moriah to carry out an act of obedience that would be hard at any age or life stage.

I’ve always thought Isaac was this young boy (likely a toddler), walking alongside his dad, maybe even carried by him at times because of the long trek they had up that mountain. But as Pastor Joe recapped this story as he read and reread details from the text, emphasizing timelines and connecting the series of events with the previous and following chapters, he concluded Isaac was likely 37 years old at the time of this journey.

I know. Shocking, right? For those of you to whom this is new news, I’ll give you a minute. Believe me, I’ve taken quite a few myself yesterday and today, dissecting the text, looking for myself, seeking to truly understand that which I cannot fully comprehend.

And that, dear friend, is what Bible study is all about — reading the Word in a way that It can read us, teach us, and beseech us to live according to It. God’s Word is alive and active. (Hebrews 4:12) It changes us, from the inside out, so It’s not just something we talk about, it’s our deepest desire to live it out.

So, when I recovered from the shock of discovering how old Isaac was at the time of this event, I was able to glean these three lessons about OBEDIENCE…

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How Well Do You Dwell?

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How Well Do You Dwell?

Just a little Monday morning Sunday sermon recap. Pastor Green was droppin’ some truth bombs yesterday at Saint Paul’s Missionary Baptist Church, and I was picking up what he was putting down. In fact, one of the first things he said stuck with me throughout the sermon, and I knew then, I’d keep sharing God’s Word with you because it’s what we’ve been put on this earth to do.

There’s a line in the new Phil Wickham song, House of the Lord, that reminds us to “not stay quiet” and to “shout out His praise.” When we truly realize the gravity and depth of His great love for us and begin to fathom what that love has done for us, we can’t help but be moved to shout it, to share it, to stand up on it and to speak up for it.

As Pastor put it yesterday in his sermon, “Tell your story. Share the life changing truths of God’s Word and what He has done for you! Y’all tell everything else on social media — what you had for dinner, that you passed your test… If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, and you don’t have a desire to tell that to the world by sharing the Gospel and the power of His Word, you aren’t fulfilling what God has called you to do.”

Can I get an Amen?

We know this world is a dangerous place, and without the hope of Jesus, it’s a deadly place. We are on a mission and have been commissioned by our Maker to be disciple makers, and guess what? When this call on our lives seems daunting and impossible, He is a Waymaker. He will never lead us astray, but we must choose to stay — abide and dwell — consciously, constantly, continuously, and consistently.

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. ~ Psalm 91:1

The word dwell in this passage implies an ongoing process. It is a constant state of living, not simply in and out when convenient, but steadfast and consistent because you mean it.

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