TUESDAY, April 8th, 2008

YOU GUYS DID AN INCLREDIBLE JOB ON YOUR DEVOTIONS YESTERDAY. GREAT JOB KASEY, JESSICA, and JILL! I WANT TO CHALLENGE YOU TO BE FAITHFUL EVERYDAY AND FOR TODAY DO THIS... CALL SOMEONE WHO YOU KNOW HAS DONE THEM IN THE PAST AND ENCOURAGE THEM TO GET ON TONIGHT AND DO THEM AGAIN!

KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK!

James 3:13-18

13 Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.
14 But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.
15 This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.
16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.
17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.

What a short, but informative passage! This passage makes you ask the question: "Am I a person of strife? or am I a person of peace?" This passage reminds me of the kind of person we have all met. "That Guy" the one that wants to fight over everything! He is always right, and if you question that, then you are in for it! Lets look at this man of strife: it says that this man is someone with bitterness, jealousy, strife, pride, a liar, full of sensuality and devilish actions. Does that sound familiar? Hopefully not, If so, we must strive to become like the wise man in verse 17. PURE! peacable, gentle, easy to be rebuked, merciful, REAL! (not a hypocrite).
If we are like this Wise man, then we will have a life of Peace!

So the question is asked in verse one: Who is a wise man? Well, let him show out of his conversation! (That word conversation does not meant talking, but it means "lifestyle")
Our Lifestyle should prove that we are a person of wisdom not a person of strife!

DONT BE "That Guy" :)

YOU GUYS ARE GREAT!!! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!
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3 comments:

Jessica M said...

James starts with a question. Look around in your congregation. Do you know who are the wise and understanding people? Do the elders know? But do you know? Shouldn't we all know that? I can say that I have most definitely seen "that guy" in the past year in a half in my life more than I have ever seen before. I grew up in church and I know a lot about it and you would never expect to see these things of bitter, envy and strife, not glory, lying, and hypocrisy but that is not always the case. Sometimes I believe it can be worse from within the church body. Am I a wise and understanding person or one of strife and bitterness? How does one show it? James says, "by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom" (v.13). People of wisdom and understanding show it primarily by their lives. My challenge?...To show wisdom and understanding, purity, peace, gentleness, mercy, and not hypocrisy by really my words but my actions and way I live.


Jessica Massey

April 8, 2008 at 5:15 PM
Jillian said...

well to be honest i have been "that guy" before and at times still am =[
but i try my hardest not to be =]
and one of the hardest things for people is hipocracy {or however u spell it lol}cuz i know for a fact i can be one sometimes and have been alot in the past but over the last year i have changed alot and i havnet seen "that guy" very often at all and have been alot better with being a hipocrite =]

jsut like jessica said you see it alot more with in the church sometimes and that shouldnt be the case so i think we as a youth group should start to try to change it and be examples to others in the church so our church can be all of what these verses say =]

one way we can know who the "wise men" are is to watch how others act and live outside of church rather than in church because that will show who people truly are because its easy to put on a front for a few hours at church on sundays and then while your at home or work or where ever you go its easier to be "yourself"


OFF TOPIC LOL
. . . . . . .

{man am i glad i went to jacksonville cuz i learned alot there and it really wasnt anything i didnt know but he jsut got the point across to me =]}
thank you pastor lee again =]

April 8, 2008 at 9:31 PM
Kacey! said...

These verses are really helpful to me! I am one to argue my point and to think I am always right. I have been trying to change that, and these verses really encouraged me. At times I find myself as both the "wise man" and "that guy". If we become more of the "wise man" then we will be more pleasant to be around. I don't know about you, but I would want to be known as the "wise man". To be known as that we can't be self-seeking, boast, lie against the truth, and we can't have bitter envy in our hearts. God will defiantly help you to be the "wise man"! Just pray! In Psalm 37:4 it says "Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart." Ask and you will receive, it's that simple with God. Of course, you are going to have to make some effort in changing, but with God's help you can do anything. By making this change it will show. Your whole attitude will be different. You will become more like Christ. That is or should be the goal of every Christian. Yes, we will fail, but God will help us through the hard times. God will honor you if you be the "wise guy"!

April 8, 2008 at 10:33 PM

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