July 29, 2008

I am grateful to the Lord for speaking a strong, loving message to us through Pastor Dale last Sunday. In particular the Holy Spirit dealt with me about prayer, in James 4:2-3-- “You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.” I was moved to check my motives in praying. Am I asking wrongly? Do I long for more of God and His will to be made known and done?

Thank you, Dale, for opening the Word to us on Sunday!

Also, please read the following article from Tim Challies (http://www.challies.com/) and be challenged and helped--“Who Is In Control?”
Click Here to be directed to the article.

Blessings of grace to you, Pastor Carey

July 21, 2008

The following article, "Me, Myself and iPhone", is a good example of the difference between "wisdom from below" and "wisdom from above"-- James 3:13-18. Please read it reflectively and prayerfully.

Me, myself, and iPhone

Technology can be an instrument for gratitude or for idolatry Vern Poythress. Ten years ago a few visionaries were predicting the era of
"ubiquitous" computing, when all kinds of appliances would contain computerized links to the rest of the world. Now it is upon us, in the form of cell phones.

A capable cell phone today has more computing power than the computer
that took the Apollo astronauts to the moon. It gives instant access not only to your friends' voices but to all the information on the internet. Are you keeping up or falling behind in the race for the latest electronic fashions?

Science and technology get a lot of attention because of the new gadgets they spin out. I love science, because it displays God's wisdom
(Proverbs 8:22-31). I love technology, because it shows what great gifts God has given to us, and what great human capacity God has given us to exercise dominion (Genesis 1:28-30). But I see hopes placed in science and technology that they cannot fulfill. Science, it is said, will solve the problems of world hunger. It will bring world peace. And more and better technology will solve the problems introduced by lesser technology.

Well, sometimes; and in some ways. Maybe science will find an efficient way to harness nuclear fusion to produce clean power—or maybe not. But we can be awash in technology and still be hate-filled or lonely. You can have 200 friends on Facebook and have no one who really knows you, no one who loves you.

Sometimes science only increases the problem. If, instead of seeing the
wisdom of God in it, you listen to the propaganda of scientism, it will solemnly assure you that you inhabit a faceless, lonely, materialistic universe that is heading only toward ultimate death. And the gadgets of technology become Band-Aids to cover spiritual wounds and empty hearts. One more electronic game or one more DVD movie or one more pop song holds back the slide into boredom and depression. We search for one entertainment after another to keep back the dread of facing the hollow inside.

God will not be mocked (Galatians 6:7). If you sow a "me"-centered
life, you will reap a harvest of emptiness. If you hope in the human wisdom of science, it will fail. Knowledge it may offer, by the truckload. But when such knowledge is detached from the God who gave it, it cannot give you wisdom to know yourself or to know God. The technology in which you hoped will mock you and testify to your ingratitude to God.

We have lost our way. Christ answers, "I am the way" (John 14:6). The
world is founded on Christ, by whom all things were created, in whom all things hold together (Colossians 1:16-17). From Him we can have eternal life in fellowship with God: "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die" (John 11:25-26). His power, manifest in His resurrection, is the foundation for all science and technology. The Bible says that Christ "upholds the universe by the word of His power" (Hebrews 1:3). His upholding sustains the regularities on which science and technology constantly depend. His wisdom is behind the knowledge and beauty in science. What is most astounding is that you can know Him personally, and have your rebellion healed. And then you will know that He, the King of the universe, loves you and understands you. If you are grateful to Him, you will have science and technology in perspective.

—Vern S. Poythress is Professor of New Testament Interpretation at
Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, where he has taught for 30 years

Copyright © 2008 WORLD MagazineJuly 26, 2008, Vol. 23, No. 15

July 16, 2008: "The Tongue and Pride"

God’s conviction in my life concerning the exercise of my tongue (see James 3:1-12) continues. I found a list of “manifestations of pride” and immediately noticed that quite a few of them are directly or indirectly connected with the tongue. James 3:5 says, “So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts (there’s the pride) of great things.”
I encourage you to read over the list prayerfully, inviting the kind, convicting, freeing work of the Spirit to lead you to repent where needed. Here is the list:

1. Complaining against or passing judgment on God (see Exodus 17).

2. A lack of gratitude in general.

3. Anger.

4. Seeing yourself as better than others.

5. Having an inflated view of your importance, gifts and abilities.

6. Perfectionism.

7. Talking too much.

8. Being focused on the lack of your gifts and abilities.

9. Talking too much about yourself.

10. Seeking independence or control.

11. Being consumed with what others think.

12. Being devastated or angered by criticism.

13. Being un-teachable.

14. Being sarcastic, hurtful, or degrading.

15. A lack of service.

16. A lack of compassion.

17. Being defensive or blame-shifting.

18. A lack of admitting when you are wrong.

19. A lack of asking for forgiveness.

20. A lack of biblical prayer.

21. Resisting authority or being disrespectful.

22. Voicing opinions of preferences when not asked.

23. Minimizing your own sin and shortcomings.

24. Maximizing others sin and shortcomings.

25. Being impatient or irritable with others.

26. Being jealous or envious.

27. Using others.

28. Being deceitful by covering up sins, faults, and mistakes.

29. Using attention-getting tactics.

30. Not having close relationships.

“Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility, for ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you…” 1 Peter 5:5-6

July 15, 2008: Recommended Sermon

In my July 6th sermon I referred to C.J. Mahaney’s powerful sermon about the crucifixion of Christ from Mark 15. I strongly recommend it.

HERE IS THE LINK

Clicking this link will initiate a download of an mp3 file. You can save it to your computer and then double-click to play the file in your default media player. (Windows Media Player, for example)

July 8, 2008 : "Taming the Tongue"

A very provocative, strong statement is found in James 3:8—“No human being can tame the tongue.” Is this true? Does it mean that we are without hope, stuck with a tongue that is a destructive “fire…set on fire by hell…a world of unrighteousness… [and] a restless evil, full of deadly poison” that stains the whole body?

What about your tongue?

Please meditate on James 3:1-12 and prayerfully prepare yourself for the sermon on July 13.

July 3, 2008 : Right Belief Can Be Dead

“You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder” (James 3:19).

“There are many people who give mental assent to the reality of God, mental assent to the reality of Christ, the facts of the gospel. I admit to you that orthodox theology is better than heresy, but orthodox theology may not be enough. You want to know something? There’s no such thing as a liberal demon…All demons believe in the Trinity and the deity of Christ. All demons believe on the death of Christ on the cross for the sins of the world…There is no such thing as a heretical demon. They believe everything orthodox, everything. And they shudder. Why? That word means to bristle, to have the hair stand on end; they are in a high degree of terror. Men have intellectual faith and demons have emotional faith. Men say ‘I believe that’ and it stops. Demons say ‘I believe that’ and their hair stands on end because they understand the implications…The demons go one better than men, they go one better than religious phonies, they shudder, they shake, they’re in grave fear.”

(John MacArthur’s sermon on James 2:14-20)

What kind of faith is yours? Have you been brought forth by the word of truth so that your life produces fruit in keeping with salvation (James 1:18)? “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves” (2 Corinthians 13:5).