The Sin of Envy

When we think of sin, external sins usually come to mind first. Activities such as sexual immorality, lying, stealing, cheating, cursing, drunkenness etc., are typically the first sins that pop into our minds. For many Christians these sins may not be the ones they struggle with the most. Deeper internal sins may be another story. A sin that is becoming an increasing battle in our culture is envy.

Envy is defined in the dictionary as “a feeling of discontented or resentful longing aroused by someone else's possessions, qualities, or luck.” My favorite definition of envy is a quote by Harold Coffin, “Envy is the art of counting your neighbors’ blessings instead of your own.” Envy is a sin that has potential to cause us to have bitterness towards others and can affect how we treat people. It also has been linked by some to low self-esteem, depression and even suicide.

Psychologists say that social media has played a part in the increase of envy today. When we scroll through our news feeds on social media accounts, we see the highlights of peoples’ lives. We typically post the good things going on in our lives. As we look at all these highlights it can cause the temptation to become envious of others and feel bad about the realities in ourselves.

The bible gives some practical advice that can help us overcome envy. First, we must learn to be content in all situations. Paul shares the secret he has learned to contentment in Philippians 4:10-14, “I can do all things through him who gives me strength.” Another thing we must do is to free ourselves from materialism. Jesus tells us in the sermon on the mount in Matthew 6:19-21 to store up for ourselves treasure in heaven and not on earth. Finally, overcoming envy is a matter of where we put our focus. In Colossians 3:2 Paul encourages us to set our mind on things above. We need to rid ourselves from the temptation to compare ourselves to others and start comparing ourselves to Christ!

Blessings,

Jeremy

The Sin People Love To Hear But Hate To Talk About - Gossip

As a preacher, I have come to find there are several subjects that are extremely difficult to talk about. Typically, the level of which we struggle with a sin directly effects the level of receptivity we show toward instruction. There is a tendency to speak more boldly about subjects that others are facing than the ones we face. One such sin that we have the tendency to shy away from is gossip.  

Unfortunately most of us have been involved in gossip either as the spreader, the receiver or the subject. James tells us, “But no one can tame the tongue it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison.” Therefore, he suggests that everyone has trouble with the ability to control what they say. Gossip has the potential to do a lot of damage. Proverbs 16:28 reminds us of this fact, "A perverse person stirs up conflict, and a gossip separates close friends." Paul includes gossip in lists of sin with potential to separate us from God and deserving of death in places like Romans 1 and 2 Corinthians 12.

The best definition I have heard of gossip is, "talking about a person who is not present that sheds them in a less than positive light, whether true or false." When engaging in conversation about a party not present we need to stop and ask ourselves several questions. 1) Is this conversation shedding them in a less than positive light? 2) Am I a part of the solution or furthering the problem? 3) Would I feel comfortable if the person unexpectedly walked in on the conversation?

Sometimes we think that we are only involved in gossip if we are spreading it. It takes both a sharer and a listener to produce gossip. We are equally guilty if we are listening to gossip. We need to take action when others are sharing gossip. Several approaches can help in stopping gossip. 1) Speak positively of others when they are being shed in negative light. 2) Let them know that you are not comfortable with the conversation and don't think we should be talking about this without the other present. 3) My personal favorite, is to ask them if you can quote them on this.

We have to take great responsibility with the things that we say and listen to. Let us all take the advice of Paul in Ephesians 4:29, "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."

Blessings,
Jeremy

Endure!

On Monday Morning April 16^th 2018, something happened that hadn’t happened since I was 2 months old in 1985. An American woman won the Boston Marathon. Des Linden became the first American woman to win the Boston Marathon in 33 years. On top of that, she was not a favorite at all to win the race. The weather conditions were very unfavorable as the entire 26.2-mile race was ran in 42-degree windy rain with a windchill factor below freezing. Des even recognized that she probably would not have one if the conditions were favorable. It was her grit and determination that gave her the victory. As you can imagine when she crossed the finish line wiping rain off her eyes, she was filled with great joy and emotion with her feat.

Myself and other preachers and bible class teachers talk often about how the Christian life is compared to an endurance race such as the marathon. We recall verses like Hebrews 12:2, “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” The challenges and obstacles we face in life take much endurance to make it to the finish.

We also note Paul’s comparison to the Christian life as a race in a statement he makes to Timothy at the end of his life. He says in 2 Timothy 4:6-8, “For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. ⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ⁸ Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” Paul understood and endured many of the challenges associated with living a faithful life in Christ. It should be our goal to have the confidence at the end of our life to make such a bold statement as Paul.

To be able to make the same statement at the end of our life two things must happen. If you are familiar with race results, you know at the very bottom of the results there is a list of names that do not have a time next to them. Instead, they have one of two acronyms.

1.      DNS – Did Not Start the race – At this year’s Boston Marathon, there were many elite athletes who looked at the weather forecast and decided the conditions were too much and opted not to run. It goes without saying that there is no chance of receiving the prize if you never start the race. We must start the race! We start the race of faith when we become a Christian. I say it often, baptism is not the end goal it is the beginning!

2.       DNF – Did Not Finish – This year there was an abnormally high number of elite runners who received the marks DNF next to their name because of the poor running conditions. The champion even said she considered dropping out at mile 6 but pushed on. In our life as Christians we see the challenges that might cause us to want to drop out we need to push on and finish the race! Hebrews 10:26 tells us the dangers of going back to a life of sin,  “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins.” This why the Hebrew writer says we need to lay off every encumbrance of sin that so easily entangles us. We must continue faithfully living for God after we begin the race.

My hope and prayer is that everyone reading can stand at the end of their life (remembering that we do not know when that will be) and boldly say, I have finished the race!

Blessings,

Jeremy

April Showers Bring May Flowers

“April Showers Bring May flowers,” is a phrase heard often in the spring when storms can dampen picnics and outdoor activities for many. The words are uttered to remind that the beauties of spring will soon follow. It is a phrase that is also spoken in times of trial and struggle. The sentiments are that this season must be endured but happiness and joy is soon to follow.

James gives a similar statement in James 1:2-4. He says “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James reminds us that the trials and struggles we face now help mold us into the people God wants us to be. We all, standing on the other side of storms in our life, can look back and see how they have helped us to mature and to grow to where we are today.

In this life, we will face trials and many storms. We need to push through with endurance looking forward to the growth and maturity that we are developing. When you find yourselves suffering during a storm always remember, “April showers bring may flowers!”

Blessings,

Jeremy

The Sunday Morning Speck

On Sunday morning, I looked in the mirror and saw a small speck of something on my suit jacket. My first assumption was, it has to be food. I proceeded to pick the speck off of my jacket. As I pulled on the object, it continued to grow. I realized it was a piece of thread from my jacket. Now it looked worse than before. Hind-sight, I realized I should have done the sensible thing and sought assistance from my wife who is a master at helping me look presentable (and what a difficult task that can be). She would have quickly snipped the thread and removed it completely.

Having a preacher’s mind, I immediately thought of spiritual application. This is often how we deal with sin in our life. Our first thought is, “I can fix it on my own.” Typically, our first inclination is to try and hide it. We see this thought process in King David after engaging in sin with Bathsheba (1 Samuel 11:1-27). His first response was to cover it up. This led to unethical decision making as King, lying, and ultimately murder.  When David took matters into his own hands, things got worse quickly. It wasn’t until a good friend confronted him that he finally took it to God in repentance (2 Samuel 12:1-13).

The reality is we all sin and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Jesus is the only one who can remove our sins. If you have not been covered by the blood of Christ in baptism (Acts 2:38), there is nothing you can do to remove your sin. We cannot cover up the bad with good deeds. We definitely cannot hide our sins from God. They have to be forgiven by Jesus.

After we were baptized, we all realized that temptation continued and we still fall short at times. As real as the temptation to sin is, there is still a temptation to deal with sins on our own. We must remember what John tells us in 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Christ is faithful to forgive us our sins. We all need to recognize our inadequacy in dealing with our sins and take them to the only one who can remove them from our life, JESUS!

Blessings,

Jeremy

Knowledge and Wsidom

There is a difference between knowledge and wisdom. It is possible to have knowledge without wisdom but it is not possible to have wisdom without knowledge. A quick dictionary search shows the major difference between the two.  One definition of Knowledge is stated as, “facts, information, and skills acquired by a person through experience or education; the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject.” However, a definition of wisdom is, “the soundness of an action or decision with regard to the application of experience, knowledge, and good judgment.” The difference being, knowledge is the obtaining of information and understanding about a subject, whereas wisdom is the ability to apply that information in action. In other words, one can have knowledge and do nothing with it but wisdom is the ability to put that knowledge to use. Miles Kington explained this difference well when he said, "Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad." 

The Bible commands us to have knowledge, but not knowledge alone. It must be put into action. After preaching the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says it like this in Matthew 7:24, “whoever hears these words of mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.” On the other hand, he continues in verse 26, “everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.” Everyone that heard the sermon had the same knowledge, but the difference between wisdom and foolishness is how one acts on that knowledge.

We can have a lot of biblical knowledge, but it is meaningless if we are not living it out in our lives. The bible speaks often of the need to be wise. Other than Jesus the bible speaks about the need for wisdom by Paul, and by James and in the book of Proverbs. Paul says in Ephesians 5:15-16, Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise,¹⁶ making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.”

As we continue to grow in our knowledge of God’s word through personal study, bible classes, sermons etc., let’s make sure we are not just storing it away in the filing cabinets of our minds. Let us put it into practice with great wisdom!

Blessings,

Jeremy

Getting Rid of Grumbling!

Several months ago, I preached a sermon about complaining. The next morning, I woke up and our Air Conditioner had quit working. It took several weeks to get it fixed! It is always a goal of mine to be relevant in my preaching, but the relevance of that situation and the temperature in the mid 90s really put me to the test. Complaining, or as the bible calls it grumbling can become a source of trouble in our spiritual lives and in our lives as the body of Christ. We see throughout the Bible that God has a disdain for grumbling.

While examining grumbling we can see why God does not like it. First, the source of grumbling is selfishness. In Numbers 16, shortly after God's people have come out of Egyptian bondage, they begin grumbling about food. It begins with a self-centered desire. Their selfish complaining blinded them from seeing God had just brought them out of a way worse situation. Similarly, when we are focusing on negatives and complaining, we can fail to see the good that God is doing around us.

James and Paul both touch on the dangers of grumbling for Christians. James tells us if we grumble the judge is standing at the door (James 5:7-9). Paul lists grumbling as a sin with potential to keep us away from God (1 Corinthians 10:6-10).

The bible doesn’t only tell how bad complaining is for us, it also gives the solution to grumbling. The first thing we can do to combat the temptation to complain is to give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:18). When we look at life with the perspective of the spiritual blessings in Christ, there is always much to be thankful for. The second way to combat grumbling is to trust in God and not lean on our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5-6). We have a God who loves us and gives us the greatest gifts of all in Jesus Christ. Paul says that he has learned how to be content in all circumstances, and Paul had some negative circumstances. The secret being, he can do all things through him who gives us strength (Philippians 4:10-13). I want to challenge myself and all of us to follow the example of Paul and rid our lives from complaining. This is accomplished through thanksgiving and as we trust in God who is in control of all things!

Blessings,

Jeremy