30 November 2005 Devotion for Today "Setting Evil Before Our Eyes" Psalm 101

30 November 2005  Devotion for Today "Setting Evil Before Our Eyes" Psalm 101

About a week or so ago I saw my popularity rating in my home go from 100
per cent down to zero in thirty seconds. We had rented a video from a English-
language video store and set down to watch it. Now, in our situation, we look
forward to a family activity like this because our television is very limited. The
only thing we get that everybody can understand is 24 hour CNN news broadcast, and
that is not really very entertaining to sit and watch that over and over again.
The national television broadcasts are in a foreign language and even if every
member of the family could understand them, they are too indecent to watch. Well,
we popped that video into the VCR, and from the outset we thought the program would
be very entertaining. It was about Alaska and some guy approaching middle age
who was on a local ice-hockey team. But soon I became very disappointed in the
direction the film was heading. The started when a little boy, four years of age,
started cursing in vulgar language that would make a sailor blush. Following that
were sexual scenes and I could tell where this was going. Instantly I went for the
TV remote control, and switched off the set. My children cried out, "Dad!" with
looks of anger in their faces-incredulous that I would turn off the set and ruin our
family evening.

My wife approved of the decision, but the children were furious. As parents
we had forgotten to check the rating on the back of the video casing. It was displayed
in the video store under "Family Movies" so we had assumed, wrongly, that it was
fit for us to see. One of my children cried out, "What a waste of good popcorn
and coke!" But the evening was not entirely wasted. Yes, we were all disappointed
that we could not see the video, but we gathered around the kitchen table instead
and played a game of Uno cards. In time, we had forgotten our disappointment and
had a very enjoyable family evening together.

If ever there were an issue that needed to be addressed in our day it is
purity. We pick back up with the psalms of David in Psalm 101 today. Purity was
very important not just for a king, but for this man-David-who understood all too
well what it meant to look at something he should not be looking at. They may not
have had pay-per-view satellite television, video tapes, or DVDs in David's day. But
pornography and violence has existed since the beginning of time. David ran into
deep trouble when he allowed a fleeting glance to become a fixated obsession. He
then fell into sin with Baathsheba all because he did not avert his eyes in a moment
of weakness. But in this psalm, David declared, "I will behave wisely in a perfect
way. Oh when will You come to me? I will walk within my house wiht a perfect heart.
I will set nothing wicked before my eyes;"

David's vow is very good advice for all of us. We may not be able to avoid
every act or depiction of impurity that is thrown at us all day long, but we can take
steps ahead of time to limit it and to walk away from it when confronted with it. One
thing I have done is to remove the batteries from the remote control. That keeps us,
and me especially, from the channel flipping that might find an indecent scene on
television. I have also programmed my computer so that it will not display anything
indecent that might accidentally be found on the internet when surfing the web.
These are just some examples of how to flee temptation when it comes our way. I have
come to discover that God honors purity and decency in a godly life. What about you?
Ask God today to give you the wisdom to follow through with the vow that David made, and
you will have a blessed day.

 

(from 6 June 2002)

 

Rev. Jeffery C. Russell
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@earthlink.net

 

website:   http://25621.lifewaylink.com
http://jeffrussellsblog.blogspot.com
http://devotionfortoday.blogspot.com/

 

29 November 2005 Devotion for Today "What Part of No?" James 5:9-12

29 November 2005  Devotion for Today  “What Part of No?”  James 5:9-12

 

I heard a statement someone made not too long ago.  I didn’t eavesdrop on the conversation, so I don’t know exactly what was said.  All I remember was the response in utter frustration, directed toward the other, “What part of “no” don’t you understand?”  I think the one making the statement was trying to get a persistent salesman off the telephone- someone who would not take “no” for an answer. 

 

Most of us do not like to hear no.  Even more people do not like to say no.  No is not a popular word, and if we want to be popular, we try to do everything we can to keep from saying it.  We will even say “yes” when we mean “no.”  At any other time in civilization, saying “yes” when we mean “no” would have been lying- telling a deliberate falsehood to manipulate or to deceive people.  But in the twenty-first century, saying yes to say no is actually considered polite, - preferable to the “N” word.  It has become a fine art, and many have become masterful at being able to smile with a glazed look in their eye and tell you “yes- they will be happy to come to church on Sunday, what time should I be there?” and then you look for them and they are not there.  I have had someone tell me yes they will refund the money to my account and for over a month it has not shown up.  Yes means you can also back out of a commitment at the last minute when more pressing business or if a more entertaining offer comes your way.  When we hear yes it means that someone is not bound to fulfill a commitment if it does not work out, and when we discover that things do not work out as we were told they would be, we are now obliged to keep silent about it and not challenge the yes-sayer lest we commit another unforgivable sin making them uncomfortable.  Yes is a distrustful word.  It has become a convenient way to dispose of something inconvenient without looking like a mean, nasty person.  These days, being considered a liar is much more respectable, much preferred to being thought of as blunt, rude or impolite.    So we now have to learn to read body language and be much more discerning to listen to the certain spin someone puts on the “yes.”  Today the word “yes” really means nothing at all.

 

Apparently ours is not the only century that struggled with this problem.  James meets this lack of sincerity and trustworthiness head on when he wrote in James 5:9-12

⁹ Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door! ¹⁰ My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. ¹¹ Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.  ¹² But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your “Yes” be “Yes,” and your “No,” “No,” lest you fall into judgment.”

 

Much of this passage has to do with patience, which I discussed yesterday.  Its interesting, however, that the admonition to have patience is used in the same passage as the call for honesty in our speech and promises that we make.  The ancient Essenes had a saying that went something like this, “If you have to invoke the name of God to give your statements credibility, you have already discredited yourself.”  In other words, your words ought to be able to stand by themselves without having to pull God down with you. 

 

What about commitments that we are unable to follow through on?  I realize that it is an uncomfortable place to be.  We have all been there, and it is embarrassing to be at the root of disappointment.  But it is better to say “no” than “yes” and not mean it or have any intention of doing it at the moment someone asks us.  Its best to be honest- even at the risk of being seen as impolite or boorish,  than to say sweet nothings.   Let your yes mean yes and your no mean no.

 

Have a blessed day!

 

 

27 November 2005  Devotion for Today  “The Latter Rain”  James 5:7-8   

Waiting patiently has never been a natural human tendency, although some are better at it than others.  Disappointed expectations top the list of my frailties when things are not going the way I want them to go.  Yet when God decides to move, He is determined to do so and nothing will keep it from happening.   I had been lamenting that not a single soul had come forward in months to be saved.  I would give invitations every Sunday- perhaps a few people came forward for prayer but no souls were saved, and no one wanted to come to join the church.  It was like we were stuck in the doldrums.  Other pastor’s counsel was not much help.  “Oh, you are way out in the “sticks,” he said, “you shouldn’t expect more than one or two baptisms a year, if that!”  Such a statement left me baffled until I checked the baptism statistics of his church and mine.  For one thing, I didn’t care for the put-down of my community as being in “the sticks,”  especially when I found out that my pastor colleague’s  church was three times larger, but they baptized fewer than ten people the previous year.  I’ve been trained to recognize potential even on the dark side of the moon, so I  don’t scale down my expectations because of the geography, demographics, or the size of my church.  I try to pray and look where God is working.   However, little responsiveness was seen in the church for months afterward.  I began to grow concerned about my effectiveness.   In fact the attrition of a couple of dissatisfied members only added to my discouragement.  This was until I read this passage from James 5:7-8.

 

⁷ Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. ⁸ You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.”

 

In Palestine, there were two major planting seasons according to the rain cycles.  The early rain came in early spring, and the later rain came toward the end of the summer.  The crops grew abundantly at those times, although for months it appears like nothing is happening after the seeds are sown.

 

I live and serve in a farming community.  I have tremendous respect for the people I serve; especially as I listen to the farmers in my congregation continually fight against discouragement and depreciating returns on their crops.  Its heartbreaking to see some of them pour out their hearts, energy and all their money only to see crop failure or have to replant or not receive a good price in the agricultural market.  Its not that they are bad farmers- they are the most industrious, hard-working, enterprising and educated people that I know.  But so much of what they do lies completely out of their control.   So much of their lives and careers are based upon waiting.   They must wait upon God to give the rain or to hold it back as the case may be. 

 

After a half a year in the doldrums, God decided to work.  We conducted Vacation Bible School that yielded fifteen first-time decisions for Christ.  Ten of those were baptized a few weeks later.  A revival service a few weeks later brought in two new families came to the church who had six or seven family members who needed to be saved.  We baptized them, also.  In two months time,  twenty-five people were saved, yielding seventeen baptisms.   That may not sound like many who are used to baptizing that many every Sunday.  But our church runs a little less than a hundred in Sunday worship.  Why am I telling you this?  To demonstrate that God decides to work precisely when He intends to.  That is not to say we can sit back and watch Him work without being faithful to prepare the soil.  Just when I am prone to slip into discouragement I have this story to remember and to look forward to the next major harvest that God will give in His time.    Don’t give up.  You might just be between rainy cycles.

 

Remember this:  It may be difficult to wait on the Lord, but it is worse to wish you had.

Have a blessed day!

 

 

 

Rev. Jeffery C. Russell
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@earthlink.net

 

website:   http://25621.lifewaylink.com
http://jeffrussellsblog.blogspot.com
http://devotionfortoday.blogspot.com/

 

27 November 2005 Devotion for Today "The Latter Rain" James 5:7-8

27 November 2005  Devotion for Today  “The Latter Rain”  James 5:7-8   

Waiting patiently has never been a natural human tendency, although some are better at it than others.  Disappointed expectations top the list of my frailties when things are not going the way I want them to go.  Yet when God decides to move, He is determined to do so and nothing will keep it from happening.   I had been lamenting that not a single soul had come forward in months to be saved.  I would give invitations every Sunday- perhaps a few people came forward for prayer but no souls were saved, and no one wanted to come to join the church.  It was like we were stuck in the doldrums.  Other pastor’s counsel was not much help.  “Oh, you are way out in the “sticks,” he said, “you shouldn’t expect more than one or two baptisms a year, if that!”  Such a statement left me baffled until I checked the baptism statistics of his church and mine.  For one thing, I didn’t care for the put-down of my community as being in “the sticks,”  especially when I found out that my pastor colleague’s  church was three times larger, but they baptized fewer than ten people the previous year.  I’ve been trained to recognize potential even on the dark side of the moon, so I  don’t scale down my expectations because of the geography, demographics, or the size of my church.  I try to pray and look where God is working.   However, little responsiveness was seen in the church for months afterward.  I began to grow concerned about my effectiveness.   In fact the attrition of a couple of dissatisfied members only added to my discouragement.  This was until I read this passage from James 5:7-8.

 

⁷ Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. ⁸ You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.”

 

In Palestine, there were two major planting seasons according to the rain cycles.  The early rain came in early spring, and the later rain came toward the end of the summer.  The crops grew abundantly at those times, although for months it appears like nothing is happening after the seeds are sown.

 

I live and serve in a farming community.  I have tremendous respect for the people I serve; especially as I listen to the farmers in my congregation continually fight against discouragement and depreciating returns on their crops.  Its heartbreaking to see some of them pour out their hearts, energy and all their money only to see crop failure or have to replant or not receive a good price in the agricultural market.  Its not that they are bad farmers- they are the most industrious, hard-working, enterprising and educated people that I know.  But so much of what they do lies completely out of their control.   So much of their lives and careers are based upon waiting.   They must wait upon God to give the rain or to hold it back as the case may be. 

 

After a half a year in the doldrums, God decided to work.  We conducted Vacation Bible School that yielded fifteen first-time decisions for Christ.  Ten of those were baptized a few weeks later.  A revival service a few weeks later brought in two new families came to the church who had six or seven family members who needed to be saved.  We baptized them, also.  In two months time,  twenty-five people were saved, yielding seventeen baptisms.   That may not sound like many who are used to baptizing that many every Sunday.  But our church runs a little less than a hundred in Sunday worship.  Why am I telling you this?  To demonstrate that God decides to work precisely when He intends to.  That is not to say we can sit back and watch Him work without being faithful to prepare the soil.  Just when I am prone to slip into discouragement I have this story to remember and to look forward to the next major harvest that God will give in His time.    Don’t give up.  You might just be between rainy cycles.

 

Remember this:  It may be difficult to wait on the Lord, but it is worse to wish you had.

Have a blessed day!

 

 

 

Rev. Jeffery C. Russell
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@earthlink.net

 

website:   http://25621.lifewaylink.com
http://jeffrussellsblog.blogspot.com
http://devotionfortoday.blogspot.com/

 

22 November 2005 Devotion for Today "Get Out of This World Alive" James 4:13-16

22 November 2005  Devotion for Today  “Get Out of This World Alive”  James 4:13-16

 

“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; ¹⁴ whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. ¹⁵ Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” ¹⁶ But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.” 

James 4:13-16

            The late Hank Williams could write songs about pain and suffering because his short life was full of pain. Kris Kristofferson once said Hank Williams was the only man who could make misery attractive. He suffered the physical pain of spinal bifida, and he struggled with an addiction of alcohol and drugs. On January 1, 1953 the #1 song on the country music charts was written and sung by Hank Williams. It was “I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive” and the words said: It’s ironic that on the very day that this song became #1, Hank Williams died, January 1, 1953.  About the only thing that Hank Williams got out of the song was the title of the last song he recorded which was etched on his tombstone:  “I’ll never get out of this world alive.”

            Coming to grips with our mortality is not something most people enjoy pondering.  In over twenty years of ministry, I’ve conducted lots of baptisms, weddings, and funerals.  Admittedly, with some of the baptisms, there are those I baptized who no longer walk actively for the Lord.  Of the weddings that I have conducted, there have been a few couples who have since divorced.  But I can say with 100% certainty that, of all the funerals I’ve ever preached, no one has come out of their grave again!  I guess you can say I am a whole lot better at preaching funerals than I am conducting weddings or baptism services!

            Indeed, like Hank said, none of us will ever get out of this world alive.  With 100% certainty everyone who reads this devotion today will die one day.  Now before you start thinking that you will stop reading these because of what I just said ask consider that there are many people who get up in the morning determined to do one thing or another.  We make plans for the day, for next week, next year and most don’t even consider one time God’s involvement in any of it.  I am not saying that we should not make plans- it is good stewardship to make plans, to organize life in such a way.  But at the end of the day, it is God who controls what plans are allowed, by His Sovereign Will, to be carried out and what ones God will dispose of.  Therefore we all should say, as James says, “if the Lord wills” we will do such and such.  Otherwise, everything that we do which we have not first submitted to the will of God is evil, James says.

            Dr. Adrian Rogers, past president of the Southern Baptist Convention and recently retired pastor of Belleview Baptist Church, Cordova, TN went home to be with the Lord last week at the age of 74.  When I heard about it, my wife and I were attending a meeting of the North Carolina Baptist State Convention in Winston-Salem.  I was shocked, and saddened when I heard of it.   He did not live to enjoy a long retirement- at least, not here on this earth.  But because Adrian knew Jesus, there is no reason to pity him or to feel badly for him because in all actuality, unlike ole’ Hank- Adrian did get out of this world alive!  He enjoys eternal life with Christ forever.

            What about you.  Are you going to get out of this world alive?  Have a blessed day!

 

 

 

Rev. Jeffery C. Russell
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@earthlink.net

 

website:   http://25621.lifewaylink.com
http://jeffrussellsblog.blogspot.com
http://devotionfortoday.blogspot.com/

 

Devotion for Today "Mondays" Psalm 145

Devotion for Today  "Mondays"  Psalm 145

I'm probably being anachronistic again, but I grew up listening to

the Carpenter's singing words to a tune that goes something like

this:  "Hanging around, nothin' to do but frown. Rainy days and

Mondays always get me down!"

Do you like Mondays?  I can't remember at whose office I saw this

but perhaps you have seen it also:  the Peanuts cartoon character,

Snoopy, the famous black and white beagle, is depicted in attitude

for each day of the week.  On Friday, Snoopy is happy and smiling.

Saturday, Snoopy is in ecstacy and floating on air.  On Sunday, 

Snoopy is happy too, but he has one eye of concern as he looks toward

the next day. Then Monday comes and Snoopy is bleary-eyed, laying down

almost lifeless, with a black cloud over his head.  Does this sound

like your Monday?  It certainly seemed that way with my children this

morning-they were so tired and grumpy they could not even lift their

heads from the breakfast table to eat, griping: "Man, why do we have

to go to school?" . I felt badly for them having to start off the day 

that way.  But really, Monday is not unlike any other day.  Its just

that western culture is just blessed to have normally two days off on

the week-end.  Even in some European countries this is not true.  We

learned in Italy last week that the children there go to school six days a

week (it wasn't long ago that they did that here in Germany). I said

to my son who made the remark, "How would you like to grow up in a

country where they didn't have a "Saturday?"  He said, that would be

all right, just as long as they didn't have a "Monday!"

David did not use the calendar that we use today, nor did he even have

a concept of "Monday" as we do today.  He treats each day as a blessing

and as an opportunity to serve and commune with God.  He writes "I will

extol You, my God, O King; And I will bless Your name forever and ever.  

Every day I will bless You, and I will praise Your name forever and ever.

Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and His greatness is 

unsearchable."  (verses 1-3).  Notice he says, "every day I will bless

you"?  David says this because he knows that even our Mondays have

blessings in them, and something worthy to thank our Lord about.  Some

preachers don't do this, but I work on Mondays.  And typically it is

not any better a day for preachers than for most other people.  I had

a preacher friend tell me in jest-"I never take off on Mondays, why

be miserable on your own time?"  

But seriously, Monday is a good catch-up day-one to reflect upon what

happened the previous day, how to do things better next week and what

not to do again.  Its a good planning day, but most of all its another

day to rejoice in what God has done in my life.

If "rainy days and Mondays always get you down", as the song goes, then

you have a reason to smile today, because Jesus loves you and He has

given you another day.  Bless Him for it.  Have a blessed Monday!

 

(12 March 2001)

 

Rev. Jeffery C. Russell
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@earthlink.net

 

website:   http://25621.lifewaylink.com
http://jeffrussellsblog.blogspot.com
http://devotionfortoday.blogspot.com/

 

"What is Lacking" I Thess 3:8-10

 

"What is Lacking" I Thess 3:8-10

Have you ever left to go on a trip, having packed rather hurriedly,

and then sensed that somewhere along the way that something was missing

or that you had forgotten to do something?  About ten years ago, my

lovely wife surprised me with a birthday trip to Philadelphia by train 

from Union Station in Washington, D.C.  The day arrived and we 

packed and made our way to the station.  When we arrived at the platform,

the conductor asked to see our tickets.  I reached into my jacket 

pocket to retrieve them, only to discover that they were not there.

Robin searched her purse to no avail. Frantic, we searched our luggage-

still no train tickets.  The train was due to leave in about thirty

minutes.  "What do we do?" We asked the conductor.  The conductor 

smiled, "Happens all the time!  If you have a reservation, the ticket

agent will be happy to produce new tickets if you can verify ID."  We

thanked him for his help and were able to secure new tickets for the

journey, and boarded the train just in time.

We found the lost tickets when we returned home. They were sitting

on the coffee table next to the telephone.  We had called someone

about the care of our children and were discussing the travel

arrangements and pulled them out of the luggage to look at them. We

had just forgotten to put them back.

Of course, such a time of panic might well have been avoided had we

made certain that we had the tickets before we left the house.  But 

this happens, sometimes.  We were just glad we had what we needed to

get new ones made.  In life, we may not always be able to take time to

be sure that we have what we need, only to discover ourselves severly

short of resources at a crucial time.  Our faith is like that as well.

Many do not take the time to build their faith and personal relationship

with God because they are hurriedly going about the pace of life.  Its

not that they feel its important, but the focus of other things crowds

out the essential.  

But then the "big trip" comes.  Suddenly people find themselves having

crossed over death's threshold before they realize what has happened.

And Christ asks for the credentials to enter into Heaven and these

same people realize that they have left it sitting on the coffee table-

the plan of salvation inside their Bibles which they never took time

to read and make a personal commitment to Jesus Christ.  

The Apostle Paul commends the church in Thessaloniki because of their

faith and love (verse 6).  He was concerned that because he had to 

leave in such a hurry that he might have forgotten to lay the sufficient

ground-work for their effective growth in commitment to Jesus Christ:

"For now we live, if you stand fast in the Lord.  For what thanks can we 

render to God for you, for all the joy with which we rejoice for your

sake before our God, night and day praying exceedingly that we may

see your face and perfect what is lacking in your faith?"

There are others who have just what they need to take them to Heaven,

but there are things lacking to give them the joy and hope needed to

sustain them in this life.  May the Lord help you to search your heart

to see what is lacking.  Perhaps you lack discipline, or courage, or

maybe you continually fall into temptation.  Is there a lack of love

there to point others to the Savior?  Is peace lacking to help you

combat worry and frustration?  May the Lord help you check your

spiritual baggage today, so that there is nothing lacking.  Have a

blessed day.

 

(from 10 April 2001)

 

Rev. Jeffery C. Russell
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@earthlink.net

 

website:   http://25621.lifewaylink.com
http://jeffrussellsblog.blogspot.com
http://devotionfortoday.blogspot.com/

 

09 November 2005 Devotion for Today "The Eichmann in All of Us" James 4:7-10

09 November 2005   Devotion for Today  “The Eichmann in All of Us”  James 4:7-10

 

            In 1960, Israeli undercover agents orchestrated the daring kidnapping of one of the worst of the Holocaust’s masterminds, Adolf Eichmann. After capturing him in his South American hideout, they transported him to Israel to stand trial.
There, prosecutors called a string of former concentration camp prisoners as witnesses. One was a small man named Yehiel Dinur, who had miraculously escaped death in Auschwitz.
On his day to testify, Dinur entered the courtroom and stared at the man in the bulletproof glass booth – the man who had murdered Dinur’s friends, personally executed a number of Jews, and presided over the slaughter of millions more. As the eyes of the two men met – victim and murderous tyrant – the courtroom fell silent, filled with the tension of the confrontation. But no one was prepared for what happened next.
Yehiel Dinur began to shout and sob, collapsing to the floor.
Was he overcome by hatred? By the horrifying memories? By the evil incarnate in Eichmann’s face?
No. As he later explained in a riveting 60 Minutes interview, it was because Eichmann was not the demonic personification of evil that Dinur had expected. Rather, he was an ordinary man, just like anyone else. And in that one instant, Dinur came to a stunning realization that sin and evil are the human condition. “I was afraid about myself,” Dinur said. “I saw that I am capable to do this … exactly like he.”
Dinur’s remarkable statements caused Mike Wallace to turn to the camera and ask the audience the most painful of all questions: “How was it possible for a man to act as
Eichmann acted? Was he a monster? A madman? Or was he perhaps something even more terrifying? Was he normal?
            Yehiel Dinur’s shocking conclusion? “Eichmann is in all of us.”

            In James 4:7-10 we read:    ⁷ Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. ⁸ Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. ⁹ Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. ¹⁰ Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

 

            The language of sin and evil is a lost language in society today and even in the church. Our culture is uncomfortable with the words. We don’t like to place labels on anyone and are quick to rationalize behavior by pointing to a broken home or an abusive relationship. We’ve found a new way of identifying what we used to call sin. Today we call it being broken, or wounded, or unhealthy. Why? Because we don’t want to hurt anyone’s self esteem. We want everyone to feel good about themselves. And telling someone that they are sinful doesn’t build them up. The language of evil and sin has been toned down so much that today in the church, the words are seldom spoken. When was the last time you heard a sermon on it? And I’m just as guilty of it as the next preacher. Why? Because I want you to go away from here feeling good about your relationship with God, not feeling badly about yourselves. But in our attempt to make each other feel good we’ve lost something very important. We’ve lost track of the fact that if there is no darkness, no evil, and no sin, then there can be no light, no goodness and no love.

Do you remember the little saying that your mom or dad would say when you dropped a piece of food or candy on the floor, or maybe you’ve even said it to your own children: a little dirt won’t hurt.  We called that the “Five-second rule,” and if we picked it up right away and brushed it off no germs could get on it and it was safe to eat.  Unfortunately, there is no five-second rule as far as sin is concerned, and sometimes we are tempted to buy into the lie of the devil, because a little dirt indeed not only hurts- it condemns, it kills, it brings about death.  The only One who can intercede for that five-second rule is Jesus Christ.  And while it may be true that there is Adolph Eichmann in all of us, there exists the possibility that in spite of Eichmann, Jesus Christ desires to come and live within us also.  He desires that there be more of Him, than Eichmann, however.  The way to do that is to humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord by repenting of our sins, believe that Jesus Christ has paid the debt for our sins, and live obediently for Christ. 

 

Have a blessed day.     

 

Rev. Jeffery C. Russell
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@earthlink.net

 

website:   http://25621.lifewaylink.com
http://jeffrussellsblog.blogspot.com
http://devotionfortoday.blogspot.com/

 

08 November 2005 Devotion for Today "He Giveth More Grace" James 4:4-6

08 November 2005  Devotion for Today  “He Giveth More Grace”   James 4:4-6

 

An elderly lady was driving through a rural part of Kentucky one evening around twilight when her car got a flat tire. Several cars passed by her on the side of the road. She began to fear that no one was going to stop. Finally, a man in his middle twenties pulled up behind her along the side of the road. He looked poor, and his clothes were nearly worn out. The lady was beginning to fear for her life. She knew that there were not very many cars on the road at that time in the evening. The man came up beside her window. He told her that his name was Sam and asked her if she would pop the trunk so that he could get the spare tire out. She did, and within a few minutes, he had changed her tire. The lady offered him money, but Sam simply asked that she pass along the kindness to someone else later on.
A couple of miles down the road, the lady stopped at a diner for a bite to eat. The young girl who waited on her was obviously very pregnant, but even though she had been on her feet all day, she still kept a smile on her face and a pleasant attitude. When the elderly lady left, she placed a rather large tip on the table – there were 4 crisp $100 bills underneath her napkin. On the napkin she had written, “Pass this kindness along to someone else.” The waitress could hardly wait to get home to her husband that night. He had been out of work for a couple of months now, and they had been praying about how they were going to meet their medical bills. Now they had their answer. She couldn’t wait to tell him. By the way, her husband’s name was Sam.

The point made in this heartwarming story is that God already knows our needs and our desires, and He has already planned just the right way for those desires to be fulfilled. All that we have to do is come to Him, place our complete dependence in Him, and then wait for Him to do what He has already said that He will do. Sadly, the proud man doesn’t have access to this kind of support because he isn’t willing to look to anybody but himself for the provision of his needs and desires. The only proper way for us to deal with out desires is to come to God and ask Him to meet them.

 

⁴ Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. ⁵ Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”? ⁶ But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:  “ God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble (James 4:4-6)

 

I have to say, I don’t like the tone James starts off with in this chapter.  Most of us know the bitter result of pride left to itself.  It usually ends very badly.  However, many people feel that they should not ask anything of others lest they think badly of them for not being able to provide for themselves.  These are the ones who often have needs unmet because they cannot bring themselves to ask anyone for help, or that they have no one around who notices the need that they have- other than God, of course.  I am thinking of someone right now who needed to go into the hospital for surgery, but she did not want to tell anyone because she felt that there were others who needed the ministry of the church more than she did.  Yet when anyone in the church or the community gets sick, this one is always the first to send a card, show up with a meal, whatever it might be she is there ministering to others.  Perhaps that is as it ought to be, yet it give others so much joy to minister to a person like this-even if we have to hunt them out.  I told this dear person “don’t ever think you can ever expend the resources of the grace of God, just because you are afraid of putting people out.” 

            You may not agree with this assertion, but I interpret this passage to mean that God gives more grace to those who feel they are undeserving or unworthy of it.  There is nothing wrong with asking for this kind of grace.

 

            Go ahead and ask God for this grace.  Don’t let your pride fool you into thinking you are not going to get it because you have asked for it in the past.  God delights in giving it.

            Have a blessed day!

Rev. Jeffery C. Russell
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@earthlink.net

 

website:   http://25621.lifewaylink.com
http://jeffrussellsblog.blogspot.com
http://devotionfortoday.blogspot.com/

07 November 2005 Devotion for Today "Locking Horns" James 4:1-4

07 November 2005   Devotion for Today  “Locking Horns”  James 4:1-4

 

¹ Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? ² You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet^[a] you do not have because you do not ask. ³ You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. ⁴ Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”  James 4:1-4

 

A few years ago I saw a trophy of deer horns hanging on the wall at a castle in Babenhausen, Germany.  I had seen many such deer trophies before, but none like this one.  It was actually two deer heads mounted on the wall, facing each other, with their horns locked together.  It seems that while they had been fighting, butting heads, and determined to defend their respective territories and lay claim to their mate- their horns became irretrievably locked together.  In their struggle to dominate one another, they did not notice the approach of the huntsman who killed both of them and carried them back to the castle for a sumptuous feast. 

 

It did not take me long to reflect upon how this applies to our lives as well.  When we strive and fuss as Christians, insisting upon our own way, “locking horns,” as it were, we are never more susceptible to Satan and his desire to bring us down.  Actually, we make easy targets for him when we struggle to dominate one another.  In the first place, we create a tense environment for everyone around; it detracts from the glory of Jesus Christ; it creates a poor witness to the world around us and; conflict tends to “kill off” our effectiveness as Christians no matter whom may be viewed as right or wrong.  In a situation like this, the only winner is the destroyer of our souls.

 

Are you “locking horns” with anyone today?  Seek to make it right as soon as you can, even if you have to “give in” it is much preferable than to have both of you insisting on your own way and having both parties overcome by Satan. 

 

Have a blessed day!

 

 

Rev. Jeffery C. Russell
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@earthlink.net

 

website:   http://25621.lifewaylink.com
http://jeffrussellsblog.blogspot.com
http://devotionfortoday.blogspot.com/

Devotion for Today "Sour Grapes" Ezekiel 18:1-4

27 June 2005 Devotion for Today  “Sour Grapes”  Ezekiel 18:1-4

 

            Dr. Ravi Zacharias once gave this quotation from a poem as he introduced one of his riveting messages.  It is an excellent commentary for the times we live in:  “At three I had the sense of ambivalence toward my brothers; and so it follows naturally- I poisoned all my lovers.  But I’m so happy I have learned the lesson this has taught: everything I do that’s wrong is someone else’s fault.”    Dr. Zacharias gave this quote to illustrate the attitude of society in the twenty-first century that the reason we are the way we are is because our parents made us this way and therefore we ought not to be accountable.  Educators and sociologists have bought in to this idea- that we are products of our environment and that if we commit a crime, then it is the fault of societal pressures and not the individual.  If a child makes poor grades in school, it is the fault of his or her learning environment, poor teachers, disinterested parents, and a whole host of conspiring factors against this student.  The student cannot be faulted if he or she drops out of high school.  It may be true that you and I were born into a world that we could not help, and we certainly have no control over our parentage, our income or status level we found ourselves in, etc.  But we certainly do have control over what we do with what or whom we have been given.

            Ezekiel would have had equal disdain for the attitude expressed in the quotation, or at least as much as he found in a popular proverb quoted by hapless individuals of Israelite society in his day:  “What do you mean when you use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying: ‘the fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge?’  As I live,” says the Lord God, “you shall no longer use this proverb in Israel.  Behold, all souls are Mine; The soul of the father as well as the woul of the son is Mine;  The soul who sins shall die.”  Ezekiel 18:2-4

            The prophet proposes from God that individual accountability is the answer for why man has failed.  He cannot blame his parents or grandparents.  He is responsible for what he does even if he was born that way.  Everyone is accountable for his or her own sins, and will experience eternal death and separation from God if they die in their sins apart from faith in God through Jesus Christ.  We can no longer point to the fact that our mother was an alcoholic or if our father beat us.  Granted, their dysfunction might point to why we have certain quirks and irrationalities, but it does not explain why we should remain as we are or seek to perpetrate our pain upon others.  Sour grapes is no excuse.  Through the power of Jesus Christ we have the ability now to overcome the worst that the world can give us and still bring glory to God and be an example and testimony to others to what God and His grace can do. 

            Have a blessed day.

 

Devotion for Today "Walk Worthy" I Thess. 2:10-12

 Devotion for Today  "Walk Worthy"  I Thess. 2:10-12

Walking is good exercize.  I have found that walking helps my whole
outlook and perspective.  I am not what you would call a dedicated
walker, because I  have missed my walking routine during the
winter months.  At least once a week I try to go to the gym and walk on the
treadmill, the treadmill is a poor substitute to getting out and enjoying
the fresh air, the beautiful scenery around our little country town,
and spending time talking to God.  While the grey pall hangs over the
continent, I look forward to when I can get back out again.  

Today our devotion focuses not just on walking, but upon how one walks.
As much as I enjoy my walks I know that there are places that I
cannot go.  A German farmer would not appreciate me walking through
his newly sewn field.  The Hausfrau would certainly have some things
to say to me should I walk through her bed of tulips.  Those are places
to look at but not to walk through.  A house burned down in our
community right before Christmas.  The rubble and debris was piled up
right outside of Mittel Gruendau.  I would get myself hurt if I were
to walk through those piles of debris.  A commuter rail line runs
through our community and stops at a station.  There is a sign on the
edge of the line which reads: "Eintritt Verboten."  In equivilent
English it means "No Trespassing."  If I were to walk there, I would
not only be violating someone else's property but might also be run
over by a train. 

You get the idea.  It is not enough that we walk, but that we walk in
the right places and in the right ways.  Such an idea was conveyed by
the Apostle Paul when he wrote in I Thessalonians 2:10-12 "You are
witnesses, and God also, how devoutly and justly and blamelessly we
behaved ourselves among you who believe; as you know how we exhorted,
and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a father does his own
children, that you would walk worthy of God who calls you into His
own Kingdom and glory."

It is important that our behavior as believers in Jesus Christ reflects
the priviledge we were called to bear.  We are to walk not as swaggering
gang members and hoodlums, but as sons and daughters of the King of
kings and Lord of lords.  We walk not as entitled, but as priviledged.
We did not earn the right to do this- it was given to us by God.  In
fact we do not walk because we are worthy, but as we are worthy.  That
worthiness was not innately within us;  God gave us that worthiness.

When you walk, how do you walk?  Do you walk as worthy?  Begin focusing
on those steps today.

 

Have a blessed day!

 

(From 29 March 2001)

 

Rev. Jeffery C. Russell

Devotion for Today

Salem Baptist Church

Elizabeth City, NC

jefferyrussell@earthlink.net

http://25621.lifewaylink.com

01 November 2005 Devotion for Today "Confusion" James 3:16-18

01 November 2005  Devotion for Today  “Confusion”  James 3:16-18

 

Did you wake up to confusion this morning?  Many people experience it when something which they did not expect implodes upon their peaceful and tranquil existence- such as the alarm clock not ringing at the appointed time.  The realization that one has woken up late with little time for the morning routine also creates anger at oneself, which is commonly displaced upon family members who themselves are trying to regain equilibrium and get to the bus before anyone notices that they are half-dressed.  It creates a situation which conspires against the outcome of the entire day.  Doors are slammed, toes are stubbed, and elbows jab into walls and doorframes in the hurried attempts to get past them, and the family dog runs scurrying beneath the kitchen table to remove herself from the stress.

 

Confusion is defined as the state of disorder that exists when the normative rules are ignored or inappropriately applied.  Confusion brings about chaos and disorganization.

It also creates a situation whereby those who recognize the confusion seek to restore order- often creating more confusion because the parties which seek to restore order yield to no one but themselves.  In any human organization or institution, confusion- also called dysfunction- is apt to occur.  When Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, their new sin nature-ultimately by Satan- created something that God did not create. 

 

James tells us that this confusion also exists “For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.  But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, the peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and without hypocrisy.  Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”  James 3:16-18

 

We may not intentionally create confusion.  But James says that whenever we envy someone or seek to be in competition with someone or to press our own agenda, we will by consequence work our way to confusion or it will soon find us.  An atmosphere of tension develops and with that tension mistrust and misunderstanding, and conflict soon follow.  That is what James means when he says that “Every evil thing is there.”  But those who have a peaceable nature from the Prince of Peace are at ease and have a way of being able to pour oil on troubled waters.  They bring glory to God as the tension subsides and the misunderstanding gives way to understanding and graciousness. 

 

Ask yourself today, are you part of the peace that brings about peaceableness, or are you part of the other situation?

 

Have a blessed day!

 

 

Rev. Jeffery C. Russell
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@earthlink.net

 

website:   http://25621.lifewaylink.com
http://jeffrussellsblog.blogspot.com
http://devotionfortoday.blogspot.com/