¹⁹ My dear brothers and sisters, if someone among you wanders away from the truth and is brought back, ²⁰ you can be sure that whoever brings the sinner back from wandering will save that person from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins. ~ James 5:19-20

This is SO huge on so many levels. Frist of all it’s saying that you can walk away from your salvation. This is important to know and understand, God will never stop loving us and wanting us but the notion that once you raise your hand and claim to be saved that you can never loose that salvation. God will NEVER let go of you but you can let go of God!!

Secondly when people walk away and go back into old ways, old habits etc, sometimes they do it by making the choice and sometimes they make it by being caught up in satan’s traps and really don’t even realize it. Either way it’s happening and we as brothers and sisters, as the church, as the body of Christ allow our personal feelings and anger dictate how we will treat them, pray for them and DO what we can to restore them. Most Christians say things like “they made the choice” “it’s their own fault they ……”  and we just let them go, hoping that one day they will return but even then it’s a BATTLE — trust has been broken and we “love” them with one eye open.

I will admit it’s very difficult and it’s very messy sometimes….. I have been on both sides of this fence and it’s horrible for a man or woman to feel shunned, unloved, without hope. The church needs to learn how to love unconditionally…..with all of this said it takes 2 right? But here is what I know….. “you can be sure that whoever brings the sinner back from wandering will save that person from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins”

I could write a book on this subject, it’s very hard, complex and yet it’s very simple…..YOU are the key to how it works, who you are in Christ, your love for him and your relationship with Him will always determine how you love others…. the good the bad and the ugly.

Now go out and have an Epic day today

⁴ You adulterers!^[a] Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. ⁵ Do you think the Scriptures have no meaning? They say that God is passionate that the spirit he has placed within us should be faithful to him.^{[b] 6} And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say,

⁷ So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸ Come close to God, and God will come close to you. ~ James 4:4-7

As time goes by in this world you can see it more and more, it’s coming down the place and quicker than you may think that you will have to choose, God or the World!! You can see the divide in just about every aspect of living on this earth from personal relationships to big Gov’t — the day is approaching when if you are a Christian/God follower you will be hated and an outcast from society. Very sad and yet at the same time very exciting. It is at this time I believe the church will be empowered and will be ONE… true believer’s!!! NO more gray area’s, no more mediocre — It says in these Scriptures “do you think the Scriptures have no meaning?”

So, HUMBLE yourself before Him — KNOW HIM…. KNOW HIS WORD… if you do not today and cannot today in this world there is NO way you will when it’s life or death. You will be duped into the believing the world. The church has a GREAT PURPOSE in this world and it’s looks nothing like the church looks today… but I say to you today “keep your eyes open” the day of the Lord is coming faster than you realize.

Now go out and have an EPIC day today

 ⁶ And among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.^[b]

⁷ People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, ⁸ but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. ⁹ Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. ¹⁰ And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! ¹¹ Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water? ¹² Does a fig tree produce olives, or a grapevine produce figs? No, and you can’t draw fresh water from a salty spring.^[c] ~ James 3:6-12

This preaches so well, it’s a great portion of Scripture to teach on, we love love love to say this and quote this. This is one of the most important statements in the Bible when it comes to living a life of peace, holiness and JOY. It’s one of the most important scriptures to “get” when it comes to other people who watch you because you claim you are a “Christian” — why?

Our words change lives, our words bring life and death. With our words we can bless someone or we can crush their spirit……and for the most part this is exactly what we do! Our words once spoken can never EVER be taken back, once the fire is started you can NEVER EVER put it out. We can try to make things right, we can try to mend the brokenness that our words bring to our spouses, children, friends, co-workers and even total strangers, but the scar will ALWAYS be there!

James says that we can control our tongue, our anger, our wrath, our judgments, out hate, our hurtful words, would that include road rage? Would that include just a mean spirited way of speaking to others? Would that include when you are having a bad day?

There are things that stick in my mind that have been said to me 50 years ago by my father or mother, by a friend or a co-worker….. our words have the POWER to bring LIFE or bring DEATH. Think about this every time you open your mouth to speak.

So how do we change this? For some of us it’s habit, it’s the only thing we know, we lash out in anger and say things that hurt others as a defense. We say “the deserve it” but is that true? Here is a truth….The word of God has the power to heal us, to transform us, to change our hearts, renew our minds, cleanse us, to give us a new heart,……. Jesus is the living WORD of God. KNOW HIM, FALL IN LOVE WITH HIM… and you will NEVER do this by saying you want to… it takes action. KNOW HIS WORD, KNOW HIS HEART and allow Him to change your life, your habits, your tongue.

Now go out and have an EPIC day today.

¹² So whatever you say or whatever you do, remember that you will be judged by the law that sets you free. ¹³ There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when he judges you. ~ James 2:12-13

Such a strong statement — can it be true? What does this mean? How much mercy do I need to show and to who?

Let me very simple minded here, MERCY is MERCY period. Mercy is not dependant on the circumstances, the reasons, the feelings, the person or your anger. MERCY is MERCY.

We become a merciful person as we grow in the Lord, as transformation takes place. A heart of revenge is a dangerous heart to have as a Christian man or woman. God forgave you and had mercy on you when you did not deserve it, He gave you every tool you need to be transformed into His likeness. Our words do not do this, our words are pretty cheap, it’s our heart and actions that He looks at…. we can say all the right things but can we DO all the right things?

Once again it all goes back to KNOWING and FALLING LOVE with Him and His Word…. other wise it’s just religion.

Now go out and have an EPIC day today

²² But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. ²³ For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. ²⁴ You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. ²⁵ But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.

²⁶ If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. ²⁷ Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.~ James 1:22-27

The Word we read, the words we hear from the Spirit, the sermons we hear, if we just listen to them and do NOTHING with them, if we listen and say “that was good” and walk back into the world un-changed it’s a waste of time, energy and effort. IT DOES not make us a Christian by having Bibles, knowing the right people, going to church. THE WORD OF GOD HAS THE POWER to transform a life, blow away addictions, heal the sick, renew a mind and totally change a life.

True change is seen when our heart and compassion changes, by taking care of others, loving the people in this world that need love and when the things of this world are NO LONGER able to corrupt us.

WORDS ARE CHEAP — ACTONS SPEAKS TRUTH OF WHO YOU ARE!!

Now go out and have an EPIC day today

⁶ And now, dear brothers and sisters, we give you this command in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: Stay away from all believers^[c] who live idle lives and don’t follow the tradition they received^[d] from us. ⁷ For you know that you ought to imitate us. We were not idle when we were with you. ⁸ We never accepted food from anyone without paying for it. We worked hard day and night so we would not be a burden to any of you. ⁹ We certainly had the right to ask you to feed us, but we wanted to give you an example to follow. ¹⁰ Even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “Those unwilling to work will not get to eat.”

¹¹ Yet we hear that some of you are living idle lives, refusing to work and meddling in other people’s business. ¹² We command such people and urge them in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and work to earn their own living. ¹³ As for the rest of you, dear brothers and sisters, never get tired of doing good.

¹⁴ Take note of those who refuse to obey what we say in this letter. Stay away from them so they will be ashamed. ¹⁵ Don’t think of them as enemies, but warn them as you would a brother or sister.^[ ~ 2Thessaloinans 3:6-15

Let me sum this up in a few words….. If you don’t work, you don’t eat.

Do not become idle, keep buys, stay out of other peoples affairs, work for your housing, food etc…. HOLD tight to the truth you have been taught.

Now go out and have an EPIC day tosay

2 Now, dear brothers and sisters,^[a] let us clarify some things about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and how we will be gathered to meet him. ² Don’t be so easily shaken or alarmed by those who say that the day of the Lord has already begun. Don’t believe them, even if they claim to have had a spiritual vision, a revelation, or a letter supposedly from us. ³ Don’t be fooled by what they say. For that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness^[b] is revealed—the one who brings destruction.^{[c] 4} He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship. He will even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God. ~ 2Thessalonians 2:1-4

Stand Firm, KNOW YOUR WORD….. when this time arrives so many in the world will be DUPED and not even know what hit them! This is when the church needs to shine and be the LIGHT in the world. THE ONLY WAY this will happen for you is if you KNOW the Word and you have a LOVE relationship with Jesus — other wise you too will be duped and sucked right into the lie and find yourself heading to hell.

Don’t forget before this takes place this man will appear to be awesome, have all the answers the world will flock to him like he is god, he will bring the words and actions that the world desperately needs and is longing to hear. Millions of Christians will fall away from the faith when he arrives on the scene!!!!

I cannot tell you enough — KNOW HIM, LOVE HIM, KNOW HIS WORD — the church has the main role when we enter into these times…..I do not believe the church will look like it does today….we will be a force with supernatural power from God. But if you are not in now, chances are you won’t be then. Are you ready? Jesus is coming!!!

CLICK LINK BELOW AND CHECK OUT THE VIDEO

https://youtu.be/uHZYCdYgFW8

¹¹ So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do. ¹² Then the name of our Lord Jesus will be honored because of the way you live, and you will be honored along with him. This is all made possible because of the grace of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ. ~ 2Thessalonians 1:11-12

Wouldn’t life be incredible if you knew someone was praying this for you on a daily basis? This is another reason God created the church body, called out pastors, this is the prayer of a pastor’s heart!! Now think of it this way… what if…. pastor’s prayed for the flock like this daily and the flock prayed for the pastor’s like this daily. WOW just imagine the possibilities and the power of men, women, teens, children and pastors and their families in this world.

Enough said…. well except this: Are you plugged into a local body?

Now go out and have an EPIC day today.

¹⁴ Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone.

¹⁵ See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people.

¹⁶ Always be joyful. ¹⁷ Never stop praying. ¹⁸ Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

¹⁹ Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. ²⁰ Do not scoff at prophecies, ²¹ but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. ²² Stay away from every kind of evil. ~ 1Thessalonians 5:14-22

There is so much here that he says, so much meat and importance to the body of Christ. These verses show how much we need one another in our lives, in our church, in our walk with the Lord. Encourage one another to keep the JOY, to keep on praying, to remain thankful for what we have. To encourage one another to be strong, not to get lazy in the faith……

That’s a good word there, not to get lazy. I do not think that he is speaking of be lazy and laying around but he is speaking of those who get lazy in the faith. How does that look? It looks like lukewarm, not cold and surely not hot… just getting by in your walk with Jesus. A place where our words are much stronger than our actions. Who we are is who we are in secret, in private. Encourage your brothers and sisters not to get lazy!!!

Always allow the Holy Spirit to be the holy Spirit…. don’t you dare say “that’s not the holy spirit” do not put him in a box, your thoughts are not His thoughts, your ways are not His ways! A lastly stay away from EVERY KIND OF EVIL…. just chew on that one for a day or two…. what does that mean in your life?

Now go out and have an EPIC day today

¹³ And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died^[f] so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. ¹⁴ For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.

¹⁵ We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died.^{[g] 16} For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died^[h] will rise from their graves. ¹⁷ Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. ¹⁸ So encourage each other with these words. ~ 1Thessalonians 4:13-17

Have HOPE — live your life as though you KNOW the hope that eternity holds for us. Death is part of life, we all die, but as Christians we know that it is just our bodies that die our souls live for eternity. It’s very hard and painful to lose a loved one but there is something so peaceful knowing that they are just passing into eternity and will live forever, and even great we will be reunited once again!!

People spend thousands of dollars trying to reach dead loved ones, they hold on to a hope of the afterlife, mediums, fortune tellers, physics makes millions giving people HOPE — friends our HOPE is found right here in these scriptures!!

This is WHY salvations is so important, this is why we need to teach our children at an early age. The world says DO NOT FORCE religion on them, lol you can’t force religion on anyone but you can teach them, model to them and show them, ultimately they all need to make the choice themselves. TEACH YOUR CHILDREN WELL. Live out a life in front of them, DO NOT deceive your children.

Now go out and have an EPIC day today