James 2:17 “Faith without works is dead.” What I glean from this verse is that faith is a generator.  It’s a work in progress changing and making us better people.

Martin Luther had big trouble accepting and obeying the book of James. In fact, he facetiously called it “an epistle of straw.” He believed that the Apostle Paul and James were on opposite sides of the theology of grace.

If someone handed you a gift, would you take it? Or, would you argue with them about not being good enough or not having enough information concerning the gift?

Here we are in 2013, and I hope you’re expecting great things this year. I know I am. I also understand that everything begins with me. So, if I want big blessings this year, I’m going to have to align my will with God’s. 

2 Cor. 4:16, “Though the outward man perishes yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.”

We’re told that the world in which we live is like a clock that is running down. Its physical energy is being spent. The same thing is happening with our own physical energy. 

The other day I was counseling a friend and I basically told him to live life or life will live without you.  Now, that really sounds like a play on words doesn’t it?  But, there is truth to this.

For the past several weeks I have been teaching on the mind.  As for me, this series is revolutionizing the way I think.  When I think of the scripture in Isaiah 26:2-3 talking about being kept in perfect peace whose mind is stayed upon Him, I get excited!  Why?

Several years ago, in an interview published in the Washington Times, the late Yasser Arafat told about his problem in giving his daughter quality time. He was working in the early morning in his office when there came a knock on the door. It was one of his aides and he was holding in his arms a beautiful one-year-old little girl. 

Present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. (2 Tim. 2:15)

I believe a lot of Christians are Biblically educated beyond their character, because they confuse the product with the purpose. We just assume that the purpose of studying the Bible is to learn.

Try this on for size: destiny is greater than potential. Think about it. Peter appears to be a more or less, mediocre fisherman. It seems to me, the only time he caught a fish was when Jesus performed miracles! But let’s say Peter was a gifted fisherman...

Phillip Yancey asked, “Is it absurd to believe that one human being, a tiny dot on a tiny planet, can make a difference in the history of the universe?” 

I was just thinking about when my brother, Morton, got accidently ran over by my father with his car.

It was Sunday evening in Blacks Harbour New Brunswick, Canada and we were all ready for church. At about 6:30 pm, my father goes out and starts the old fifty-seven Pontiac to let it warm up. Dad would always turn the car in the yard, and then we would get in and ride to Church. 

With everything going on in our world, it’s important to rethink and remind ourselves of who we are. Scripture says that ‘we are the light of the world’ and ‘the salt of the earth’.

With Jesus saying that ‘we are sent out as sheep among wolves’ so ‘be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.’ I must remember that as a Christian I am in spiritual warfare. Lost people are not my enemy but they are victims of the real enemy--Satan.

For thirty three years, Jesus showed the world God in the flesh. Jesus modeled a communication strategy for us and then He passed the torch. ‘You are the light of the world’ Jesus said.

Spiritually and basically speaking, light is living a certain kind of life.
When Jesus told His disciples to ‘let your light shine before men,’ light shines when we use our gifts to meet needs in the name of Christ.

In the scripture we see Jesus use the metaphor of farming when it comes to teaches us about soul winning. The law of harvest is cultivate, sow, and reap the harvest. Cultivation isn’t a relationship with a hook. It’s worth our time to build relationships with nonbelievers even if they’ve never trusted God. Why? Because they too are made in the image and the likeness of God. They’re not pets, plants, or trees.